William  H.  Holtzclaw 

Principal,   Utica  Normal  and   Industrial    Institute 


THE 

BLACK  MAN'S 

BURDEN 


BY 

WILLIAM  H.  HOLTZCLAW 

|  I 
Principal  of  The  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  for  the  Training 
of  Colored  Young  Men  and  Young  Women 
Utica  Institute,  Mississippi 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON 

Principal  of  the  [Tuskegee  Normal  and 
Industrial  Institute,  Tuskegee,  Alabama 


Illustrated  by  Portraits  and  Views 


NEW  YORK 

THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

1915 


M1 


COPYRIGHT,  19 15,  BY 

WILLIAM  H.  HOLTZCLAW 


This  volume  is  dedicated  to  my  mother,  Addie,  whose 
affection  and  foresight  inspired  me  in  my  youth  with  a 
desire  to  get  an  education,  and  to  my  wife,  Mary  Ella, 
whose  patience  and  fidelity  have  supported  me  in  my 
ambition  to  be  of  service  to  my  race. 


345188 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

William   H.   Holtzclaw Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Booker  T.  Washington t         .38 

Emmett  J.   Scott 50 

Mrs.  William  H.  Holtzclaw 64 

Charles  Banks 72 

Principal  Holtzclaw  and  the  Farmers  Felling  the  Trees  Used 

in  the  Construction  of  the  First  Schoolhouse  at  Utica     .  07 

Old  Log  Cabin  Where  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Insti- 
tute Had  Its  Birth 104 

Ginn  Memorial  Hall 113 

Utica  Institute  Swineherd 120 

A  Group  of  Teachers  in  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  In- 
stitute Who  Were  Trained  at  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and 
Industrial  Institute 132 

Students  Marching  to  Chapel  for  Services  on  Sunday  Morning    142 

A  Scene  Showing  Farmers  Coming  from  Assembly  Hall  at 

One  of  Our  Farmers'  Conferences 150 

Booker  T.  Washington  Hall,  Erected  by  Student  Labor.  In 
the  Upper  Right-hand  Corner,  the  First  Schoolhouse  Used 
by  Principal  Holtzclaw  at  Utica 170 


6  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Executive  Council  of  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  186 

Corene  Haney,   Offering   Her   Mother's   Only  Cow   for   Her 
Entrance  Fee  and   Schooling  at  the  Utica  Normal   and 

Industrial  Institute 192 

Young  Men  Making  Furniture  in  the  Cabinet  Division     .         .  204 

Faculty  of  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute        .        .  214 

Principal  Holtzclaw  and  His  Family 227 


INTRODUCTION 

Among  the  students  who  entered  Tuskegee  Institute 
in  the  fall  of  1890  was  a  young  man  from  Roanoke, 
Alabama.  Like  most  of  the  students  who  came  to  us  in 
those  early  days,  he  was  very  poor,  and  in  order  to  make 
his  way  he  found  it  necessary  to  enter  the  night  school. 
This  meant  that  he  was  compelled  to  work  during  the 
day  in  order  that  he  could  have  the  privilege  of  going 
to  school  for  a  few  hours  at  night  while  he  was  slowly 
accumulating  a  fund  sufficient  to  permit  him  to  enter 
the  day  school  later  on. 

Like  most  of  the  students  of  that  day,  too,  he  had  had 
little  preparation  before  entering  Tuskegee  and  he  was 
therefore  compelled  to  begin  at  the  very  bottom  and 
work  his  way  up.  He  had  not  been  in  school  very  long, 
however,  before  he  succeeded  in  attracting  the  attention 
of  his  teachers  by  the  earnestness  which  he  displayed, 
both  in  the  work  to  which  he  was  assigned  during  the 
day  and  in  his  studies  in  the  class  room  at  night.  We 
were  soon  convinced,  therefore,  that  we  had  found  in 
him  the  sort  of  material  we  wanted  in  our  students. 

From  that  time  to  the  present  I  have  watched  that 
young  man  grow  in  strength  and  in  usefulness,  until 
to-day  I  do  not  know  a  single  graduate  of  Tuskegee  who 
has  more  completely  carried  out  in  his  life  the  spirit 


8  INTRODUCTION 

which  the  school  has  sought  to  instill  in  its  students,  nor 
do  I  know  one  who  is  doing  a  more  useful  or  more  suc- 
cessful work  for  his  race  and  for  the  community  in  which 
he  lives. 

This  book  is  the  story  of  that  young  man's  life,  as 
far  as  he  has  been  able  to  tell  it  for  himself. 

Books  of  this  kind  have  a  value  which  is  not  confined 
to  the  information  which  they  give.  To  those  who  are 
interested  in  learning,  not  merely  of  the  condition,  but 
something  of  the  spirit  of  Negro  education  in  the  rural 
industrial  high  schools  of  the  South,  a  personal  narra- 
tive such  as  this  is  more  valuable  than  any  amount  of 
statistics.  Such  books  serve  to  give  an  insight,  such  as 
no  mere  formal  statement  or  report  could  give,  into  the 
actual  conditions  under  which  education  is  carried  on 
in  the  South  to-day,  showing  something  of  its  difficulties 
and  mistakes,  as  well  as  its  successes.  But  these  are  also 
books  of  inspiration.  They  show  what  pluck  and  pa- 
tience and  understanding  can  do,  in  the  face  of  many 
difficulties  and  discouragements,  to  establish  schools  that 
will  not  only  instruct,  but  will  direct  and  inspire  the 
masses  of  our  people  in  their  efforts  for  better  things. 

Although  this  book  is  the  record  of  the  experiences 
of  a  single  individual,  it  is  mainly  the  story  of  a  school. 
It  is  a  story  of  progress,  for  fortunately  many  of  the 
difficulties  which  have  surrounded  Negro  education  in 
the  remote  and  distant  rural  districts  in  the  South  are 
growing  less.  There  is  a  better  spirit  everywhere.  All 
through  the  South  there  is  a  growing  interest,  among 
the  white  people  as  well  as  colored,  in  the  effort  to  make 
the  Negro  rural  school  something  more  than  a  mere 


INTRODUCTION  9 

name;  something  more  than  a  mere  object  in  the  land- 
scape. 

To  a  very  considerable  extent  the  rural  Negro  school 
is  getting  to  be  the  center  of  Negro  rural  life ;  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  the  teachers  in  the  rural  districts  are 
coming  to  be  the  recognized  leaders  in  the  community. 
More  and  more  the  rural  school  is  beginning  to  connect 
itself  with  the  practical  interests  of  every-day  life  in  the 
community.  Girls  are  learning  to  read  and  write,  but 
they  are  also  learning  to  work  and  sew;  boys  are  learn- 
ing to  use  arithmetic,  but  they  are  also  learning  to  plow 
and  to  plant. 

This  result  has  been  largely  brought  about  through 
the  influence,  direct  and  indirect,  of  such  schools  as  the 
one  described  in  this  volume.  These  schools,  at  any  rate, 
have  laid  the  ground  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  work 
that  is  now  just  beginning. 

They  have  done  this  by  showing  the  masses  of  the 
Negro  people  what  education,  real  education,  is,  and  by 
showing  the  white  people  that,  in  any  effort  to  make  him- 
self a  more  useful  and  more  law  abiding  citizen,  educa- 
tion is  just  as  important  and  just  as  necessary  to  the  black 
boy  as  to  the  white. 

It  is  in  this  sense  that  I  can  say  of  the  book  that  Mr. 
Holtzclaw  has  written  that  it  is  the  story,  not  merely  of 
the  life  of  an  individual,  or  of  a  school,  but  it  is  at  the 
same  time  a  very  important  chapter  in  the  history  of 
Negro  education. 

Booker  T.  Washington. 

Tuskegee  Institute,  Alabama. 


PREFACE 

In  presenting  this  book  to  the  public,  I  do  so  with 
many  misgivings.  Several  times  during  the  past  five  or 
six  years  I  have  written  short  sketches  of  my  life  for 
various  newspapers  and  for  such  magazines  as  the  Sat- 
urday Evening  Post  and  World's  Work.  I  have  pub- 
lished also,  from  time  to  time,  in  our  own  school  paper, 
Southern  Notes,  articles  touching  upon  my  work  as  a 
teacher  here  at  Utica  and  elsewhere  in  the  South. 

The  sketches  that  make  up  this  volume  have  been  read 
with  more  or  less  interest  by  my  friends,  but  I  had  not 
thought  of  ever  publishing  them  in  book  form  until  about 
two  years  ago,  when  the  Rev.  Henry  E.  Cobb,  of  New 
York  City,  a  friend  of  mine  for  many  years,  read  one  of 
them  and  was  so  much  impressed  with  it  that  he  wrote 
to  me,  urging  me  to  publish  the  sketches,  or  to  put  them, 
at  least,  into  more  permanent  form.  Since  that  time  I 
have  received  a  great  many  letters  from  my  friends  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  repeating  Dr.  Cobb's  sug- 
gestion. 

As  the  work  in  which  I  am  engaged,  and  to  which  I 
am  devoting  my  life,  belongs  to  the  public, — at  least, 
I  have  always  liked  to  think  so, — I  feel  that  I  should 
accede  to  their  wishes. 

There  is  another  reason  for  the  publication  of  this 


12  PREFACE 

book.  I  know  that  whatever  I  am  able  to  tell  about  my 
own  life  is  typical;  it  is  the  story  of  many  others  like 
myself  who  have  struggled  to  get  an  education  and  to  be 
of  use  in  the  world,  but  whose  efforts  will  never  be 
known.  It  is  because  I, want  the  world  to  know  some- 
thing of  these  unknown  and,  perhaps,  less  fortunate 
young  men  of  my  race  that  I  have  tried,  as  best  I  could, 
to  tell  my  story  here.  It  is  necessary  that  the  two  races 
in  this  country  should  know  each  other  intimately,  if  they 
are  to  live  together ;  and  that,  in  substance,  is  why  I  have 
written  this  book. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  narrative  I  am  indebted  to 
Dr.  Robert  E.  Park,  of  the  University  of  Chicago;  to 
Mr.  H.  M.  Rideout,  of  Harvard  University,  and  to  Pro- 
fessor John  Chilton  Scammel,  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina. 


THE    BLACK    MAN'S    BURDEN 


CHAPTER   I 

I  have  some  recollection  of  the  house  in  which  I  was 
born,  and  of  the  great  plantation  which  belonged,  in  the 
days  of  slavery,  to  one  of  those  traditional  Southern 
planters  about  whom  we  have  read  so  much.  I  have  seen 
the  windowless  house  in  which  I  first  saw  the  light, — the 
light  that  scantily  streamed  through  the  cracks  in  the 
wall.  It  was  a  little  cabin,  fourteen  feet  by  sixteen  feet, 
made  of  split  pine  poles,  with  only  dirt  for  a  floor. 

It  was  in  this  cabin,  near  Roanoke,  Randolph  County, 
Alabama,  that  my  mother  was  left  alone  one  Saturday 
night.  My  father  had  gone  away  to  secure  food  for  her, 
and  when  he  returned,  Sunday  morning,  I  was  there  to 
greet  him.  My  mother  and  I  were  completely  alone  at 
the  time  of  my  birth. 

I  have  always  felt  that  I  have  an  advantage  over  most 
men  of  my  race  in  that  I  was  born  on  a  day  of  rest.  It 
was  the  first  piece  of  good  fortune  that  came  to  me,  and 
I  want  to  be  grateful  for  it. 

This  was  in  the  closing  days  of  Reconstruction,  when 
there  were  stirring  times  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  coun- 
try, but  of  course  I  do  not  remember  much  about  what 
happened  then.  I  recall,  however,  some  things  that  oc- 
curred four  or  five  years  later  when,  although  the  South 


14  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

had  been  legally  reconstructed,  the  law  had  not  changed 
the  sentiments  of  the  people  very  much. 

I  distinctly  remember  that  there  were  no  colored 
school-teachers  at  that  time  and,  in  my  own  locality, 
there  were  no  Northern  white  teachers.  The  few  colored 
schools  that  existed  at  all  were  taught  by  Southern  white 
men  and  women.  Before  I  was  old  enough  to  attend 
school  myself  I  used  to  go  along  now  and  then  with  the 
others,  and  I  remember  that  one  of  these  Southern  white 
teachers  took  a  great  liking  to  me  and,  passing  our  house 
one  day  on  his  way  home,  predicted  to  my  mother  that 
I  would  some  day  be  a  lawyer.  I  did  not  know  what 
that  meant  then,  but  I  got  the  impression  that  it  meant  I 
was  going  to  be  something  great,  and  I  did  not  forget  it. 

Almost  as  soon  as  the  Negro  pupils  got  as  far  as 
"baker,"  and  certainly  when  they  got  as  far  as  "abase- 
ment," in  the  old  blue-back  speller  they  were  made  as- 
sistant teachers,  and  in  a  short  while,  relieving  the  white 
teachers,  they  became  the  only  teachers  we  had.  When 
I  was  seven  years  old  there  was  not  a  white  teacher  in 
our  community.  The  colored  teachers  were  doing  pretty 
good  work,  but  the  best  of  them  had  advanced  only 
about  as  far  as  the  fourth  grade.  There  is  one  thing, 
however,  that  they  had  learned  to  perfection,  and  that 
was  the  use  of  the  rod,  and  of  this  kind  of  education  I 
got  my  full  share  every  day.  My  great  trouble  was  that 
if  I  got  a  whipping  at  school,  I  was  likely  to  get  another 
one  when  I  reached  home. 

This  was  not  always  the  case,  however.  One  year  it 
had  been  agreed  that  I  should  study  nothing  but  arith- 
metic, and  before  I  had  been  at  school  many  days  I  had 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  15 

undoubtedly  reached  the  limit  of  my  teacher's  ability  in 
that  branch.  For  several  days  I  had  no  lessons.  At 
length,  one  day,  without  warning,  he  jumped  at  me  like 
a  fierce  tiger,  and  with  a  hickory  switch,  which  he  had 
previously  roasted  in  the  fire,  he  beat  me  to  the  floor  and 
continued  to  flog  me  until  some  grown  pupils  interfered. 
When  I  started  home  that  afternoon  I  became  exhausted 
and  sat  down  on  a  log  on  the  roadside,  from  which  I 
was  not  able  to  rise  on  account  of  the  lacerated  condition 
of  my  flesh.  My  father  found  me  after  dark  and  carried 
me  home.  That  was  the  only  time  that  I  can  now  recall 
ever  having  seen  my  father  very  angry.  He  wanted  to 
whip  that  school-teacher,  but  my  mother's  advice  pre- 
vailed, and  I  was  sent  back  to  school  as  soon  as  I  could 
walk.  Those  early  experiences  made  me  vow  that  if  ever 
I  got  to  be  a  school-teacher  I  would  not  whip  the  little 
ones  and  let  the  big  ones  go  free. 

My  father, — who,  like  my  mother,  had  been  a  slave, — 
was  a  young  and  inexperienced  man  when  he  married. 
My  mother,  however,  had  been  married  twice  before,  and 
she  was  the  mother  of  three  children.  Her  first  mar- 
riage was  performed  in  slavery  time  by  the  simple  act 
of  jumping  back  and  forth  over  a  broom  in  the  presence 
of  her  master  and  mistress.  In  the  course  of  time  as 
more  children,  including  myself,  came  along,  until  there 
were  six  of  us,  my  father  found  it  very  difficult  to  keep 
the  wolf  from  the  door. 

My  mother  helped  him  by  cooking  for  the  landlord's 
family,  while  my  father  worked  on  the  plantation.  Our 
landlord, — one  of  those  Southern  planters,  now  com- 
monly referred  to  as  a  "gentleman  of  the  Old  South," — 


16  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

like  many  others  of  his  class,  had  had  his  fortune,  con- 
sisting largely  of  slaves,  swept  away  by  the  ravages  of 
the  Civil  War.  The  result  was  that,  although  he  had  a 
large  amount  of  land  left,  he  was  nevertheless  a  poor 
man.  The  agreement  between  him  and  Father,  which 
was  nothing  more  than  a  verbal  contract  between  them, 
provided  that  he  was  to  furnish  land,  mules,  feed,  seed, — 
in  fact,  everything  but  labor, — and  it  further  provided 
that  he  was  to  help  do  the  work  and  receive  as  his 
share  three- fourths  of  all  that  the  land  produced,  while 
we  were  to  receive  the  other  one-fourth. 

Although  he  agreed  to  help,  he  seldom  did  any  man- 
ual labor.  He  was  in  the  fields  every  day,  however, 
going  from  place  to  place  among  the  various  Negroes 
that  were  serving  under  contracts  similar  to  ours.  At 
one  time  my  father  ventured,  in  the  most  modest  way, 
to  call  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was  doing  no 
work,  but  he  very  kindly,  yet  firmly,  explained  that  he 
was  doing  more  work  in  a  day  without  a  tool  in  his  hand 
than  my  father  was  doing  in  a  month.  He  tried  to  make 
my  father  understand  this.  I  do  not  know  whether  my 
father  understood  it  or  not,  but  I  could  not. 

We  never  prepared  our  land  for  cultivation,  but  simply 
planted  the  seeds  on  the  hard  ground  in  March  and  April 
and  covered  them  with  a  turn  plow;  then  we  cultivated 
the  crop  for  two  months.  Naturally,  the  returns  were 
small.  When  the  crop  was  divided  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
three  loads  of  corn  were  thrown  into  the  white  man's 
crib  and  one  into  ours ;  but  when  it  came  to  dividing  the 
cotton,  which  was  done  up  into  bales  weighing  five  hun- 
dred pounds  each  and  which  sold  for  seventeen  cents  a 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  17 

pound,  every  bale  went  to  the  white  man.  He  was  at 
great  pains  to  explain  to  my  father  each  year  that  we 
ate  ours  during  the  year. 

I  remember  how  puzzled  I  used  to  be  in  trying  to  con- 
ceive how  it  was  possible  for  people  to  eat  a  crop, — 
especially  cotton  out  of  which  cloth  is  made, — before  it 
was  produced.  In  later  years,  however,  and  many  times 
since  then,  I  have  seen  whole  crops  eaten  two  or  three 
years  before  they  were  planted. 

Our  landlord  furnished  us  food  from  his  smoke-house 
from  March  to  July,  and  from  September  to  December. 
This  food  consisted  of  corn  meal,  out  of  which  we  made 
corn-pone  by  mixing  it  with  water  and  salt,  and  smoked 
sides  of  meat,  from  hogs  that  we  raised.  All  the  rest 
of  the  time  we  had  to  find  something  to  do  away  from 
the  plantation  in  order  to  keep  supplied  with  bread  and 
clothes,  which  were  scanty  enough.  The  land  was  poor 
and  would  hardly  have  produced  enough  to  support  all 
the  people  that  lived  on  it,  even  if  it  had  been  under  bet- 
ter cultivation. 

Each  year  the  landlord  would  "run"  us,  and  he  would 
charge  from  twenty-five  to  two  hundred  per  cent,  for 
the  advances,  according  to  the  time  of  the  year.  No 
wonder  we  ate  our  crops  up. 

The  method  of  obtaining  food  and  provisions  on  this 
plantation  was  interesting.  The  landlord  owned  the  store, 
— one  large  room  about  forty  feet  by  sixty  feet,  which 
he  kept  well  supplied  with  flour,  meat,  meal,  and  tobacco. 
This  store  was  usually  open  only  on  Saturdays,  when  all 
the  Negroes  from  the  plantation  would  come  up  and  pass 
the  day  at  the  store,  which  was  a  sort  of  "social  center." 


18  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Meantime  their  rations  for  the  following  week  were 
being  issued.  For  an  unmarried  male  laborer  the  usual 
ration  was  a  pound  of  meat,  a  peck  of  meal,  three  pounds 
of  flour,  and  a  plug  of  tobacco. 

I  remember  hearing  the  men  complain  very  often  that 
they  were  charged  for  rations  that  they  did  not  get,  and 
I  remember  that  at  one  time  a  lawsuit  arose  between  the 
landlord  and  a  Negro  on  the  plantation  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write.  When  the  trial  came  off  at  the  store  the 
landlord  presented  his  books  to  show  that  the  Negro  had 
obtained  certain  rations  during  the  year.  The  Negro 
denied  having  received  such  rations,  and  as  proof  he 
presented  his  "book,"  which  consisted  of  a  stick,  one 
yard  long,  trimmed  in  hexagon  fashion  and  filled  with 
notches,  each  notch  representing  some  purchase  and  in 
some  ingenious  way  the  time  of  the  purchase.  After 
the  jury  had  examined  the  white  man's  books  they  began 
an  examination  of  the  Negro's  stick,  and  the  more  he  ex- 
plained his  way  of  keeping  books  the  more  interested  the 
jurors  became.  When  the  trial  was  over,  the  Negro  won 
the  case,  the  jurors  having  decided  that  he  had  kept  his 
books  properly  and  that  a  mistake  had  been  made  by  the 
white  bookkeeper. 

My  mother  cooked  for  the  "white  folks,"  and,  her 
work  being  very  exacting,  she  could  not  always  get  home 
at  night.  At  such  times  we  children  suffered  an  ex- 
cruciating kind  of  pain, — the  pain  of  hunger.  I  can  well 
remember  how  at  night  we  would  often  cry  for  food 
until  falling  here  and  there  on  the  floor  we  would  sob 
ourselves  to  sleep.  Late  at  night,  sometimes  after  mid- 
night, mother  would  reach  home  with  a  large  pan  of  pot- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  19 

liquor,  or  more  often  a  variety  of  scraps  from  the  "white 
folks'  "  table  (she  might  have  brought  more,  but  she  was 
not  the  kind  of  cook  that  slipped  things  out  of  the  back 
door)  ;  waking  us  all,  she  would  place  the  pan  on  the 
floor,  or  on  her  knees,  and  gathering  around  we  would 
eat  to  our  satisfaction.  There  was  neither  knife,  fork, 
nor  spoon, — nothing  but  the  pan.  We  used  our  hands 
and  sometimes  in  our  haste  dived  head  foremost  into  the 
pan,  very  much  as  pigs  after  swill.  In  the  morning,  when 
mother  had  to  return  to  her  work  before  we  children 
awoke,  she  was  accustomed  to  put  the  large  pan  on  the 
dirt  floor  in  the  middle  of  the  cabin  where  we  could  find 
it  without  difficulty.  Sometimes,  however,  our  pet  pig 
would  come  in  and  find  it  first,  and  would  be  already 
helping  himself  before  we  could  reach  it.  We  never 
made  any  serious  objection  to  dividing  with  him,  and  I 
do  not  recall  that  he  showed  any  resentment  about  di- 
viding with  us. 

One  day  my  brother  and  I  were  given  a  meal  of  pie- 
crust, which  my  mother  had  brought  from  the  "white 
folks'  "  table.  As  we  were  eating  it,  Old  Buck,  the  fam- 
ily dog,  who  resembled  an  emaciated  panther,  stole  one 
of  the  crusts.  We  loved  Old  Buck,  but  we  had  to  live, 
and  so  my  brother  "lit  onto"  him  and  a  royal  battle  took 
place  over  that  crust.  As  my  brother  was  losing  ground, 
I  joined  in  the  struggle.  We  saved  the  crust,  but  not 
until  both  of  us  had  been  scratched  and  bitten.  I  do  not 
know  who  needed  the  crust  most,  we  or  the  dog,  for 
those  were  the  days  of  hardships.  Very  often  we  would 
go  two  or  three  days  at  a  time  without  prepared  food, 
but  we  usually  found  our  way  into  the  potato  patches, 


20  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  the  chickens  were  not  always  safe  where  we  passed, 
for  my  brother  occasionally,  by  accident,  would  step  on 
a  little  one,  and  of  course  we  would  then  have  to  cook  it 
as  a  matter  of  economy.  I  recall  that  in  that  section  of 
Alabama  where  I  lived  there  is  a  kind  of  root  called  hog 
potato,  which  grows  abundantly  in  the  swamps  and 
marshy  places.  I  have  never  known  it  by  any  other 
name.  I  used  to  spend  hours  every  day  in  the  swamps 
about  our  house  wading  in  the  slush  above  my  knees, 
turning  up  the  mud  in  search  of  those  potatoes.  After 
they  were  roasted  they  had  a  taste  like  that  of  the  white 
potato  with  which  people  in  the  Northern  states  are  fa- 
miliar. By  means  of  these  potatoes,  together  with  ber- 
ries and  other  wild  fruits,  we  were  able  to  keep  body  and 
soul  together  during  those  dark  days. 

As  I  now  remember  it,  my  father's  continuous  effort 
was  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  He  presently  quit 
the  big  plantation  and  spent  a  year  working  on  the  West- 
ern railway  of  Alabama,  at  Loachapoka  in  Lee  County, 
about  fifty  miles  from  home.  There  were  no  railroads 
or  stage  coaches  to  carry  him  to  and  from  his  work,  so  it 
required  two  weeks  to  make  the  round  trip,  much  of 
which  lay  through  immense  forests  where  a  narrow  foot- 
path was  the  only  passage.  He  would  remain  away  from 
home  three  months  at  a  time,  working  for  the  handsome 
sum  of  a  dollar  a  day,  out  of  which  he  boarded  himself 
and  furnished  his  working-clothes.  I  remember  how 
mother  and  we  children  would  sit  in  our  dark  little  cabin 
many  nights  looking  for  him  to  come  at  any  moment, 
and  sometimes  it  would  be  nearly  a  week  after  we  would 
begin  to  look  for  him  before  he  would  come.    I  don't 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  21 

think  we  ever  had  a  letter  from  him ;  we  only  knew  that 
the  three  months  were  up,  and  that  it  was  time  for  him 
to  come  to  us. 

He  usually  brought  from  forty  to  fifty  dollars  home, 
but  by  the  time  we  paid  out  of  that  amount  what  we 
owed  the  white  gentleman,  on  whose  place  we  still  lived, 
for  the  advances  obtained  of  him  in  my  father's  absence 
there  would  not  be  much  left  for  us. 

The  lack  of  food  was  not  the  only  hardship  we  had  to 
endure.  We  found  it  very  difficult  to  find  clothes  and 
even  shoes,  which  was  very  trying  when  the  winters  were 
cold.  I  never  wore  a  pair  of  shoes  until  I  was  fifteen, 
and  when  I  did  begin  to  wear  shoes  I  never  wore  them 
until  the  weather  was  cold.  In  fact,  I  made  it  a  rule 
never  to  put  on  my  new  shoes  until  Christmas  morning, 
no  matter  how  cold  it  was.  Usually  in  the  summertime 
the  only  garment  that  we  children  wore  was  a  simple 
shirt.  These  shirts  were  not  always  made  of  shirting, 
but  were  often  of  homespun,  and  when  this  material  could 
not  be  had  a  crocus  sack,  or  something  of  the  kind,  was 
used  instead.  I  remember  that  the  first  suit  of  clothes 
I  owned  I  paid  for  myself  with  the  money  I  had  made 
by  splitting  rails.  It  took  me  a  good  part  of  the  fall  sea- 
son to  split  the  two  thousand  rails  that  were  required  to 
get  my  little  suit,  but  I  succeeded  in  my  undertaking,  with 
occasional  help  from  my  father  in  finishing  the  job.  The 
fact  that  I  bought  this  suit  with  my  own  labor  made  me 
think  all  the  more  of  it. 

Although  the  census  taker  of  1880  classed  my  parents 
as  illiterates,  they  had  a  very  clear  understanding  of  right 
and  wrong;  in  their  own  way  they  were  moral  teachers, 


22  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  they  knew  how  to  make  their  lessons  impressive.  By 
no  stretch  of  the  imagination  could  either  of  them  have 
been  classed  with  what  was  known  at  that  time  as  an 
ignorant  Negro,  though  neither  of  them  could  read  or 
write. 

One  day  while  I  was  alone  in  the  "white  folks'  " 
kitchen,  where  I  had  accompanied  my  mother  to  her  daily 
work,  I  spied  a  little  round  box  on  the  shelf.  It  was  a 
box  of  matches  such  as  I  have  not  seen  in  twenty  years. 
Curious  to  see  what  a  match-head  was  like,  I  pinched  one 
without  removing  it  from  the  box.  An  explosion  was 
heard,  and  the  box  was  blown  off  the  shelf,  to  my  con- 
sternation. With  a  switch  my  mother  began  to  admin- 
ister to  a  rather  tender  part  of  my  anatomy  the  treat- 
ment with  which  it  was  already  familiar,  explaining  all 
the  while  that  I  must  learn  to  mind  my  own  business. 
The  white  lady,  with  whom  I  was  a  favorite,  interceded 
for  me,  saying  that  I  should  not  be  whipped  for  a  little 
thing  like  that;  it  was  most  natural;  I  had  reached  the 
age  of  investigation.  My  mother  desisted,  shaking  her 
head  as  she  left  the  scene,  saying  she  would  "investigate" 
me,  and  from  time  to  time  she  did.  So  in  matters  of 
conduct,  at  least,  whether  large  or  small,  I  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  loving  but  firm  discipline. 

In  such  matters  of  conduct,  or  of  morality,  if  you 
please,  my  mother  was  always  teaching  me  some  little 
lesson.  I  remember  that  at  one  time,  when  I  must  have 
been  five  or  six  years  old,  I  was  sent  up  to  the  "big 
house"  to  borrow  some  meal  from  the  "white  folks"  for 
supper.     On  my  way  back,  while  climbing  over  an  old- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  23 

fashioned  rail  fence,  I  discovered,  while  pausing  for  a 
few  minutes  on  the  top  rail,  a  hen's  nest  full  of  eggs. 
The  bait  was  tempting.  I  was  hungry  and  wanted  the 
eggs.  I  had  never  heard  anybody  say  anything  about 
taking  that  which  did  not  belong  to  you,  but  somehow  I 
felt  that  it  was  wrong  to  take  those  eggs.  I  knew  they 
belonged  to  the  white  lady  up  at  the  "big  house."  After 
thinking  the  matter  over  for  nearly  a  half  hour,  I  de- 
cided to  compromise  by  taking  only  a  few  of  them,  so  I 
got  as  many  as  my  little  pocket  would  hold  and  carried 
them  home.  Sidling  up  to  my  mother  in  a  rather  sheep- 
ish fashion,  I  showed  them  to  her  and  told  her  that  I 
had  found  them,  which  was  the  truth.  I  remember  that 
my  mother  was  amused,  but  she  kept  her  face  turned 
from  me  and  proceeded  to  teach  me  another  one  of  those 
little  lessons,  which  stayed  by  me  and  supported  me  in 
after  years. 

She  told  me  it  was  wrong  to  steal  from  the  "white 
folks,"  that  "white  folks"  thought  all  Negroes  would 
steal,  and  that  we  must  show  them  that  we  would  not. 
She  said  she  knew  I  did  not  steal  them,  but  that  it  would 
look  that  way,  and  that  I  must  show  that  I  did  not  by 
taking  them  right  back  to  the  white  lady  and  giving  them 
to  her.  That  was  a  great  task.  After  having  spent  an 
hour  in  going  a  distance  of  300  yards,  I  reached  the  white 
lady  with  the  eggs  and  told  her  that  I  had  found  them. 
I  have  always  suspected  that  my  mother  had  been  there 
and  had  seen  the  white  lady  before  my  arrival.  At  least, 
that  is  the  way  it  appears  now,  as  I  look  back  on  it,  for 
the  good  lady  gave  me  an  old-fashioned  lecture  about 


24  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

stealing  and  told  me  that,  whenever  I  wanted  anything 
she  had,  I  should  come  up  and  ask  for  it.  Then  she  gave 
me  two  of  the  eggs.  I  was  quite  young  at  that  time,  as  I 
have  said  before,  but  I  was  not  too  young  to  learn,  and 
that  lesson  and  others  like  it  remained  with  me. 


CHAPTER    II 

I 
When  I  was  four  years  old  I  was  put  to  work  on  the 

farm, — that  is,  at  such  work  as  I  could  do,  such  as  riding 
a  deaf  and  blind  mule  while  my  brother  held  the  plow. 
When  I  was  six  years  old  my  four-year-old  brother  and 
I  had  to  go  two  miles  through  a  lonely  forest  every 
morning  in  order  to  carry  my  father's  breakfast  and/ 
dinner  to  a  sawmill,  where  he  was  hauling  logs  for  sixty 
cents  a  day.  The  white  man,  Frank  Weathers,  who  em- 
ployed a  large  number  of  hands,  both  Negroes  and  whites, 
was  considered  one  of  the  best  and  most  upright  men  in 
that  section  of  the  country. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  public  schools  in  that  part 
of  the  country  for  the  Negroes.  Indeed,  public  schools 
for  whites  were  just  beginning  to  be  established.  This 
man  set  aside  a  little  house  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
sawmill,  employed  a  teacher,  and  urged  all  the  Negroes 
to  send  their  children  to  this  school.  Not  a  great  many 
of  them,  however,  took  advantage  of  his  generosity,  for 
this  was  at  the  time  when  everybody  seemed  to  think 
that  the  Negro's  only  hope  was  in  politics. 

But  my  father  and  mother  had  great  faith  in  educa- 
tion, and  they  were  determined  that  their  children  should 
have  that  blessing  of  which  they  themselves  had  been 
deprived. 

Soon,  however,  Mr.  Weathers  had  cut  all  the  timber 


26  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

that  he  could  get  in  that  section,  and  he  therefore  moved 
his  mills  to  another  district  This  left  us  without  a 
school.  But  my  father  was  not  to  be  outdone.  He  called 
a  meeting  of  the  men  in  that  community,  and  they  agreed 
to  build  a  schoolhouse  themselves.  They  went  to  the 
forest  and  cut  pine  poles  about  eight  inches  in  diameter, 
split  them  in  halves,  and  carried  them  on  their  shoulders 
to  a  nice  shady  spot,  and  there  erected  a  little  school- 
house.  The  benches  were  made  of  the  same  material, 
and  there  was  no  floor  nor  chimney.  Some  of  the  other 
boys'  trousers  suffered  when  they  sat  on  the  new  pine 
benches,  which  exuded  rosin,  but  I  had  an  advantage  of 
them  in  this  respect,  for  I  wore  only  a  shirt.  In  fact, 
I  never  wore  trousers  until  I  got  to  be  so  large  that  the 
white  neighbors  complained  of  my  insufficient  clothes. 

Those  benches,  I  distinctly  remember,  were  constructed 
for  boys  and  girls  larger  than  I  was,  and  my  feet  were 
always  about  fourteen  inches  above  the  ground.  In  this 
manner  I  sat  for  hours  at  a  time  swinging  my  feet  in  an 
effort  to  balance  myself  on  the  pine-pole  bench.  My  feet 
often  swelled,  so  that  when  I  did  get  on  the  ground  to 
recite  I  felt  as  if  a  thousand  pins  were  sticking  through 
them,  and  it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  stand.  For  this 
inability  to  stand  I  often  got  a  good  flogging,  for  I  could 
not  convince  the  teacher  that  I  was  not  trying  to  "make 
believe." 

School  lasted  two  months  in  the  year, — through  July 
and  August.  The  house  was  three  miles  from  our  home, 
and  we  walked  every  day,  my  oldest  sister  carrying  me 
astride  her  neck  when  my  legs  gave  out.  Sometimes  we 
would  have  nothing  more  than  an  ear  of  roasted  green 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  27 

corn  in  our  baskets  for  dinner.  Very  often  we  had  simply 
wild  persimmons,  or  ripe  fruit  picked  from  our  land- 
lord's orchard,  or  nuts  and  muscadines  from  the  for- 
est. If  we  had  meat,  ten  to  one  it  was  because  "Old 
Buck"  had  caught  a  'possum  or  a  hare  the  night  before. 
Many  a  night  the  dogs  and  I  hunted  all  night  in  order  to 
catch  a  'possum  for  the  next  day's  noon  meal. 

Although  we  were  young,  we  were  observant,  and  in 
this  way  we  learned  some  things  in  that  school, — among 
them,  that  the  teacher,  who  was  a  married  man,  had 
fallen  in  love  with  his  assistant  teacher.  He  was  con- 
stantly "making  eyes"  at  her.  She  evidently  reciprocated 
his  affection,  for  at  the  end  of  the  school  year  they  eloped, 
and  there  was  a  great  stir  in  the  community  in  conse- 
quence. The  people  met  at  the  little  schoolhouse  and 
very  nearly  decided  that  they  would  have  no  more  school, 
but  my  father  was  there  and  counselled  them  that  we  had 
all  suffered  enough  already  from  the  affair  and  that  we 
ought  not  to  punish  ourselves  further.  I  attended  the 
meeting  myself  with  my  father  and  I  remember  that 
my  sympathies  were  all  with  "Miss  Deely."  True,  she 
had  run  away  with  the  principal  of  the  school  and  no- 
body knew  where  they  were,  but  I  could  not  see  what 
right  anybody  had  to  interfere  with  her  love  affairs,  and 
I  ventured  to  tell  my  mother  so.  Mother  did  not  argue 
the  question,  but  sat  down  and  took  me  across  her  lap 
and  proceeded  to  correct  my  views  on  the  subject.  Then 
she  put  the  matter  to  me  in  the  form  of  a  question.  She 
asked  me  how  would  I  like  to  have  some  nice  little  lady 
run  away  with  my  father  and  leave  me  there  for  her  to 


28  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

take  care  of.    That  settled  it  with  me.    Miss  Deely  was 
forever  afterward  in  the  wrong. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  school  year  there  was  a  trying 
time  in  our  family.  On  this  occasion  the  teacher  ordered 
all  the  pupils  to  appear  dressed  in  white.  We  had  no 
white  clothes,  nor  many  of  any  other  sort,  for  that  mat- 
ter. Father  and  Mother  discussed  our  predicament 
nearly  all  one  night.  Father  said  it  was  foolish  to  buy 
clothes  which  could  be  used  for  that  occasion  only.  But 
my  ever  resourceful  mother  was  still  determined  that  her 
children  should  look  as  well  on  this  important  occasion 
as  any  of  our  neighbors.  However,  when  we  went  to  bed 
the  night  before  the  exhibition  we  still  had  no  white 
clothes  and  no  cloth  from  which  to  make  them.  Never- 
theless, when  we  awoke  the  next  morning,  all  three  of 
us  had  beautiful  white  suits.  It  came  about  in  this  way : 
my  mother  had  a  beautiful  white  Sunday  petticoat,  which 
she  had  cut  up  and  made  into  suits  for  us.  As  there  is 
just  so  much  cloth  in  a  petticoat  and  no  more,  the  stuff 
had  to  be  cut  close  to  cover  all  three  of  us  children,  and 
as  the  petticoat  had  been  worn  several  times  and  was, 
therefore,  likely  to  tear,  we  had  to  be  very  careful  how 
we  stooped  in  moving  about  the  stage,  lest  there  should 
be  a  general  splitting  and  tearing,  with  consequences  that 
we  were  afraid  to  imagine.  At  the  exhibition  the  next 
night  we  said  our  little  pieces,  and  I  suppose  we  looked 
about  as  well  as  the  others;  at  least,  we  thought  so,  and 
that  was  sufficient.  One  thing  I  am  sure  of, — there  was 
no  mother  there  who  was  prouder  of  her  children 
than  ours.  The  thing  that  made  her  so  pleased  was  the 
fact  that  my  speech  made  such  an  impression  that  our 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  29 

white  landlord  lifted  me  off  the  stage  when  I  had  fin- 
ished speaking  and  gave  me  a  quarter  of  a  dollar. 

If  there  happened  to  be  a  school  in  the  winter  time,  I 
had  sometimes  to  go  bare-footed  and  always  with  scant 
clothing.  Our  landlady  was  very  kind  in  such  cases. 
She  would  give  me  clothes  that  had  already  been  worn  by 
her  sons,  and  in  turn  I  would  bring  broom  straw,  from 
the  sages,  with  which  she  made  her  brooms.  In  this  way 
I  usually  got  enough  clothes  to  keep  me  warm. 

So,  with  my  mother's  encouragement,  I  went  to  school 
in  spite  of  my  bare  feet.  Often  the  ground  would  be 
frozen,  and  often  there  would  be  snow.  My  feet  would 
crack  and  bleed  freely,  but  when  I  reached  home  Mother 
would  have  a  tub  full  of  hot  water  ready  to  plunge  me 
into  and  thaw  me  out.  Although  this  caused  my  feet  and 
legs  to  swell,  it  usually  got  me  into  shape  for  school  the 
next  day. 

I  remember  once,  when  I  had  helped  "lay  by"  the 
crops  at  home  and  was  ready  to  enter  the  little  one-month 
school,  it  was  decided  that  I  could  not  go,  because  I  had 
no  hat.  My  mother  told  me  that  if  I  could  catch  a  'coon 
and  cure  the  skin,  she  would  make  me  a  cap  out  of  that 
material.  That  night  I  went  far  into  the  forest  with  my 
hounds,  and  finally  located  a  'coon.  The  'coon  was  a 
mighty  fighter,  and  when  he  had  driven  off  all  my  dogs 
I  saw  that  the  only  chance  for  me  to  get  a  cap  was  to 
whip  the  'coon  myself,  so  together  with  the  dogs  I  went 
at  him,  and  finally  we  conquered  him.  The  next  week  I 
went  to  school  wearing  my  new  'coon-skin  cap. 

Exertions  of  this  kind,  from  time  to  time,  strength- 


30  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

ened  my  will  and  my  body,  and  prepared  me  for  more 
trying  tests  which  were  to  come  later. 

As  I  grew  older  it  became  more  and  more  difficult  for 
me  to  go  to  school.  When  cotton  first  began  to  open, — 
early  in  the  fall, — it  brought  a  higher  price  than  at  any 
other  time  of  the  year.  At  this  time  the  landlord  wanted 
us  all  to  stop  school  and  pick  cotton.  But  Mother  wanted 
me  to  remain  in  school,  so,  when  the  landlord  came  to  the 
quarters  early  in  the  morning  to  stir  up  the  cotton  pickers, 
she  used  to  outgeneral  him  by  hiding  me  behind  the  skil- 
lets, ovens,  and  pots,  throwing  some  old  rags  over  me 
until  he  was  gone.  Then  she  would  slip  me  off  to  school 
through  the  back  way.  I  can  see  her  now  with  her  hands 
upon  my  shoulder,  shoving  me  along  through  the  woods 
and  underbrush,  in  a  roundabout  way,  keeping  me  all  the 
time  out  of  sight  of  the  great  plantation  until  we  reached 
the  point,  a  mile  away  from  home,  where  we  came  to  the 
public  road.  There  my  mother  would  bid  me  good-bye, 
whereupon  she  would  return  to  the  plantation  and  try  to 
make  up  to  the  landlord  for  the  work  of  us  both  in  the 
field  as  cotton  pickers. 

But  when  I  became  too  large  to  be  conveniently  hidden 
behind  our  few  small  pots  I  had  to  take  my  place  on  the 
farm.  When  I  was  nine  years  old  I  began  work  as  a 
regular  field-hand.  My  mother  now  devised  another  plan 
to  keep  me  in  school :  I  took  turns  with  my  brother  at 
the  plow  and  in  school ;  one  day  I  plowed  and  he  went  to 
school,  the  next  day  he  plowed  and  I  went  to  school ;  what 
he  learned  on  his  school  day  he  taught  me  at  night  and  I 
did  the  same  for  him.  In  this  way  we  each  got  a  month 
of  schooling  during  the  year,  and  with  that  month  of 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  31 

schooling  we  also  acquired  the  habit  of  studying  at  home. 
That  we  learned  little  enough  may  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing incident:  I  was  ordered  to  get  a  United  States 
history,  and  my  father  went  to  the  store  to  get  one,  but 
the  storekeeper,  not  having  one,  sold  him  a  "Biography 
of  Martin  Luther"  instead,  without  telling  him  the  dif- 
ference, so  I  carried  the  book  to  school  and  studied  it  for 
a  long  time,  thinking  that  I  was  learning  something  about 
the  United  States.  My  teacher  had  neglected  to  tell  me 
the  name  of  the  land  I  lived  in. 

It  was  hard  enough  for  me  to  find  a  way  to  go  to 
school.  When  it  was  not  one  obstacle,  it  was  another. 
More  than  once  I  worked  hard  for  eleven  months  in  the 
year  without  receiving  a  single  penny.  Then,  in  order 
to  enter  school,  I  split  rails  at  fifty  cents  a  hundred  dur- 
ing the  month  of  December  to  get  money  with  which  to 
buy  clothes. 

When  I  reached  the  age  where  my  school  days  were 
for  the  time  at  an  end  I  was  hired  out  to  a  white  man  for 
wages,  in  order  to  help  support  the  family.  Seeing  that 
there  was  no  chance  for  further  schooling,  I  became 
morose,  disheartened,  and  pulled  away  from  all  social 
life,  except  the  monthly  religious  meetings  at  the  little 
cabin  church.  Nevertheless,  I  gathered  all  the  books  I 
could  find  or  borrow  and  hid  them  in  the  white  man's 
barn,  where  I  spent  every  bit  of  my  spare  time  in  trying 
to  satisfy  my  desire  for  knowledge  of  the  world  of  books. 
In  this  manner  I  spent  all  my  Sundays.  It  was  during 
this  time  that  I  came  across  the  "Life  of  Ignatius  San- 
cho,"  who  was  an  educated  black  West  Indian.  It  was 
the  first  thing  in  the  way  of  a  biography  of  a  colored 


32  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

man  that  I  had  found,  and  I  cannot  express  the  inspira- 
tion I  received  from  learning  for  the  first  time  that  a 
colored  man  could  really  make  history. 

It  was  in  1880  that  my  father  finally  despaired  of  get- 
ting ahead  by  working  on  the  share  system, — that  is,  by 
working  crops  for  half  of  the  profit.  Encouraged  by  the 
success  of  other  Negroes  around  him  and  urged  on  by 
the  determination  of  my  mother  and  the  persistence  of 
us  children,  he  determined  to  strike  out  for  himself.  His 
idea  was,  first,  to  rent  land,  furnish  his  own  stock  and 
farm  implements,  then  after  having  paid  for  his  stock, 
to  buy  land.  I  remember  that  when  he  announced  this 
plan  to  us  children  we  were  so  happy  at  the  prospects  of 
owning  a  wagon  and  a  pair  of  mules  and  having  only 
our  father  for  boss  that  we  shouted  and  leaped  for  joy. 

Sure  enough,  he  carried  out  his  plans, — in  part,  at 
least.  He  rented  a  farm  of  forty  acres,  for  which  he 
paid  annually  three  bales  of  cotton,  worth  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  He  bought  a  mule,  a  horse,  and  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  so  we  started  out  for  ourselves.  The  effort 
brought  about  a  transformation  in  the  spirits  of  the  whole 
family.  We  all  became  better  workers  and  for  the  first 
time  began  to  take  an  interest  in  our  work.  However, 
before  the  crops  were  laid  by,  many  troubles  arose :  one 
of  our  oxen  broke  his  neck,  one  mule  was  attacked  with 
some  peculiar  disease  (I  think  they  called  it  the  "hooks"), 
and  the  horse  became  so  poor  and  thin  that  he  could  not 
plow. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  mule.  His  ailment  was  a 
peculiar  one;  he  could  plow  all  day  with  ease,  seemingly 
in  perfect  health,  but  after  he  lay  down  for  the  night  he 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  33 

could  not  get  up  again.  If  we  would  help  him  to  his  feet, 
he  would  eat  a  good  meal  and  work  faithfully  all  day- 
long. Consequently,  the  first  thing  I  heard  in  the  morn- 
ing was  my  father's  voice  arousing  me  from  sleep,  say- 
ing, "Son,  son,  get  up,  day  is  breaking;  let's  go  and  lift 
the  old  mule  up."  We  also  had  to  call  in  a  neighbor  each 
morning.  Toward  the  end  of  the  season  old  Jim  began 
to  get  so  weak  that  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  do  any 
plowing,  and  before  the  crop  was  laid  by  he  gave  out 
entirely.  At  this  juncture,  not  to  be  outdone,  my  brother 
and  I  took  the  mule's  place  at  the  plow,  with  my  sister 
at  the  plow-handles,  and  in  this  way  we  helped  to  finish 
the  crop  after  a  fashion,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  enter  school 
the  first  day  it  opened  in  August. 

The  faithful  ox  that  was  left  to  us  was  always  on  hand, 
and  it  was  my  duty  to  plow  and  haul  with  him.  In  order 
to  plow  with  an  ox  one  has  to  put  a  half  inch  rope  around 
his  head,  and  let  it  extend  to  the  plow-handles,  for  use 
as  a  line  and  bridle.  That  ox's  head  was  so  hard  that  a 
sore  was  cut  into  my  hand,  from  jerking  him  for  four 
years,  and  the  scar  is  still  there. 

My  father  was  without  experience  in  self -direction 
and  management,  having  always,  up  to  that  time,  had  a 
white  man  to  direct  him.  As  a  consequence,  our  effort 
to  do  business  for  ourselves  was  not  wholly  successful. 
I  have  already  spoken  of  our  trials  during  that  first  year. 
Things  went  well  during  the  early  part  of  the  second 
year,  and  the  crop  was  laid  by  with  little  mishap,  except 
that  my  father,  who  plowed  without  shoes,  stepped  on  the. 
stub  of  a  cane,  which,  entering  his  foot,  made  him  useless 
as  a  field-hand  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year.    I  recall 


34  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

that  Father  carried  a  piece  of  cane  two  inches  long  in  his 
foot  for  more  than  a  month,  until  he  finally  drew  it  to 
the  surface  by  the  application  of  fat  meat  poultices.  How 
much  better  it  would  have  been  if  he  could  have  had  a 
modern  surgeon  who  would  have  drawn  the  splinter  in 
two  minutes.  The  crops  were  laid  by,  however,  by  the 
first  of  August,  and  we  entered  the  little  school,  where 
we  remained  for  one  month.  Our  corn  crop  that  year 
was  splendid.  We  gathered  it  and  piled  it  in  heaps  in 
the  field  one  Friday  and  Saturday.  On  Sunday  there  was 
a  cloudburst,  and  all  the  corn  was  washed  away  by  the 
little  creek  that  passed  through  the  plantation.  This  was 
a  severe  blow  to  us,  one  from  which  we  were  never 
wholly  able  to  recover. 

However,  we  struggled  on.  The  next  year,  just  as  we 
were  ready  to  gather  our  crop,  a  disease  called  the  "slow 
fever"  broke  out  in  our  family.  It  was  a  great  scourge, 
and  all  the  more  serious  because  we  were  not  able  to 
employ  a  physician  and  because  my  father  was  compelled 
to  be  away  from  home  during  the  day,  working  for  food 
to  keep  us  alive.  My  brother  Lewis  was  born  in  the 
midst  of  this  raging  epidemic,  and  my  mother  was  not 
able  to  leave  her  bed  to  wait  on  those  who  were  sick. 
The  only  attention  we  got  was  that  which  neighbors 
could  give,  during  the  little  time  that  they  could  spare 
from  picking  their  own  cotton.  Although  I  never  took  to 
my  bed  during  the  two  months  that  we  suffered,  I  was 
almost  as  sick  as  any  of  the  family.  Mother  had  us  put 
in  little  beds  that  hovered  round  her  bed,  and  she  waited 
on  us  the  best  she  could  until  she  was  almost  exhausted. 
But,  in  spite  of  her  efforts,  Lola,  my  oldest  sister,  and 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  35 

the  most  beloved  member  of  the  family,  died.  I  dis- 
tinctly remember  that  this  so  affected  me  that  I  did  not 
care  to  live  any  longer.  The  fact  is,  I  wanted  to  join  her, 
for  in  my  youthful  mind  I  felt  that  she  was  better  off 
than  we  were.  It  was  after  she  had  been  buried  and 
after  we  had  returned  from  the  little  cemetery,  all  of  us 
being  still  far  from  well,  that  I  heard  my  father  pray 
his  first  prayer  before  the  family  altar.  The  calamity 
was  a  great  blow  to  him  and  brought  about  a  change  in 
his  life  that  lasted  as  long  as  he  lived. 

The  fourth  and  last  year  that  we  tried  to  get  on  by  our 
own  initiative  we  had  several  unique  experiences.  At 
the  end  of  that  year,  we  came  out  so  far  in  debt  that, 
after  we  had  paid  our  creditors  all  the  cotton  we  had 
made,  they  came  and  took  our  corn  and,  finally,  the  vege- 
tables from  our  little  garden  as  well  as  the  chickens  and 
the  pig.  I  felt  that  we  ought  to  fight  and  not  to  allow  all 
our  substance  to  be  taken  from  us,  and  I  told  my  father 
so,  but  he  insisted  that  we  must  obey  the  law.  My 
mother,  however,  was  a  woman  with  considerable  fire 
in  her  make-up.  When  they  came  and  entered  the  crib  to 
take  the  corn  we  children  commenced  to  cry;  then  my 
mother  came  out  and  with  considerable  warmth  de- 
manded that  a  certain  amount  of  corn  be  left  there.  She 
said  that  was  the  law.  I  do  not  know  how  she  knew 
anything  about  the  law,  but  I  do  know  that  the  white 
man  who  was  getting  the  corn  respected  her  knowledge 
of  the  law  and  left  there  the  amount  of  corn  that  she 
demanded.  Having  succeeded  thus  far,  she  demanded 
that  he  leave  the  chickens  and  vegetables  alone,  and  this 
he  also  did.     However,  we  were  so  completely  broken 


36  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

up  at  this  time  that  we  applied  to  a  white  man  for  a 
home  on  his  place, — a  home  under  the  old  system.  My 
father  only  lived  a  short  while  after  that,  and  he  was 
never  able  again  to  lift  himself  from  the  condition  of  a 
share  tenant. 

On  the  morning  of  Christmas  Day,  1889,  my  father 
seated  himself  on  the  roots  of  a  large  oak  tree  in  the 
yard  just  after  breakfast,  and,  calling  me  to  him,  said : 
"Son,  you  are  nearing  manhood,  and  you  have  no  edu- 
cation. Besides,  if  you  remain  with  me  till  you  are 
twenty-one,  I  will  not  be  able  to  help  you.  For  these 
reasons,  your  mother  and  I  have  decided  to  set  you  free, 
provided  you  will  make  us  one  promise, — that  you  will 
educate  yourself." 

By  that  time  Mother  had  come  up,  and  there  we  all 
stood.  My  mother  and  I  were  crying,  and  I  am  not  sure 
that  my  father  was  not.  I  accepted  the  proposition  and 
hurried  off  across  the  forest,  where  about  a  mile  away  I 
secured  work  with  a  white  man,  at  thirty  cents  a  day  and 
board.  Although  we  usually  took  a  week  for  Christmas, 
that  day  my  Christmas  ended.  I  was  very  much  excited. 
It  was  difficult  for  me  to  restrain  myself.  I  was  free.  I 
was  now  to  enjoy  that  longed-for  opportunity  of  being 
my  own  master.  The  white  man  for  whom  I  worked 
could  neither  read  nor  write.  For  that  reason  I  feared  to 
let  him  see  me  with  books  lest  he  should  resent  it,  but 
nothing  ever  came  of  my  apprehensions. 

At  the  end  of  six  months  I  ran  across  quite  acciden- 
tally,— I  will  say  providentially, — the  Tusk e gee  Student, 
a  little  paper  published  by  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and  In- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  37 

dustrial  Institute,  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama.  In  it  there  was 
the  following  note : 

"There  is  an  opportunity  for  a  few  able-bodied  young 
men  to  make  their  way  through  school,  provided  they  are 
willing  to  work.  Applications  should  be  made  to  Booker 
T.  Washington,  Principal." 

I  scribbled  up  some  sort  of  application  and  addressed 
it  simply  to  "Booker  T.  Washington,"  with  nothing  else 
on  the  envelope.  All  the  same,  it  reached  him,  and  I  was 
admitted. 

Then  came  the  question  of  clothes  to  wear  to  Tuskegee. 
Up  to  that  time  I  had  worn  only  two  garments  at  a  time, 
a  cotton  shirt  and  a  pair  of  cotton  trousers.  I  had  never 
worn  an  undergarment  of  any  kind,  and  I  had  an  idea 
that  such  garments  were  only  worn  on  Sundays  to  keep 
the  starched  top  clothes  from  scratching.  Now  that  I 
was  about  to  be  off  for  Tuskegee,  I  had  not  only  to  pro- 
vide myself  with  collars,  cuffs,  and  at  least  one  stiff -bos- 
omed shirt,  but  I  had  to  learn  to  wear  them.  My  white 
neighbor  gave  me  collars,  shirts,  and  so  on,  second-hand, 
and  they  were  all  too  large  by  three  sizes.  Imagine  a  boy 
with  a  number  thirteen  neck  circled  by  a  number  sixteen 
collar  about  an  inch  and  one-half  too  high  for  him,  and 
you  have  a  picture  of  me  as  I  prepared  to  go  away  to 
school. 

However,  clothes  was  at  this  time  one  of  my  minor 
troubles.  I  was  still  giving  my  wages  to  my  mother  to 
help  support  the  family.  It  was  hard  for  me  to  forego 
the  continuance  of  this  help,  especially  as  the  family  had 
grown  so  large  by  this  time,  and  needed  more  money. 


38  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Nevertheless,  the  desire  for  education  overcame  all  these 
scruples. 

But  there  was  still  another  subtle  influence  working 
against  me.  All  the  older  neighbors  counselled  me  not  to 
go  to  Tuskegee.  They  said  it  was  nothing  but  an  old 
Baptist  school  where  they  fed  you  on  bread, — corn  bread, 
— and  worked  you  to  death.  They  said  that  boys  who 
had  no  money  and  had  to  work  their  way  through  would 
be  looked  down  on  by  the  more  fortunate;  that  Booker 
T.  Washington  was  an  infidel;  and,  lastly,  that  I  had 
enough  education  anyway.  I  could  teach  school,  and 
what  else  was  there  for  me  to  do  ? 

This  appeal  to  my  ignorance  and  my  vanity  was  hard 
to  overcome.  Nevertheless,  I  decided  to  go  and  spend 
three  months,  by  which  time  I  expected  to  get  all  that 
Tuskegee  had  for  me,  and  return. 

The  first  day  of  October,  1890,  therefore  found  me  at 
Tuskegee.  I  presented  myself  at  Mr.  Washington's  of- 
fice for  my  entrance  examination.  I  was  now  a  young 
man,  but  I  could  not  tell  in  answer  to  his  questions  in 
what  country  I  lived,  nor  what  state,  nor  what  county. 
I  knew  that  I  was  from  Roanoke,  and  to  me  Roanoke 
was  the  whole  thing.  Mr.  Washington  put  his  hands 
over  his  mouth  and  laughed  a  little,  then  he  sent  me  to 
his  wife  (she  was  Miss  Murray  at  that  time)  for  further 
examination.  I  remember  one  question  she  asked  me, — 
"What  are  the  parts  of  speech?"  I  had  never  studied 
written  language,  so  I  answered,  according  to  my  knowl- 
edge, that  the  parts  of  speech  were  lips,  teeth,  tongue, 
and  throat.  My  final  examination  was  on  the  farm, 
where  I  was  sent  to  strip  fodder  from  some  sorghum 


Booker  T.  Washington 

Principal,  Tuslcegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute;   President,  National  Negro 
Business  League 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  39 

cane.  Here  I  was  much  like  the  proverbial  rabbit  in  the 
briar-patch, — I  could  easily  make  a  hundred  per  cent.  I 
stripped  the  cane  so  clean  that  it  shone. 

Accordingly,  I  was  admitted  as  a  regular  work  stu- 
dent, working  one  year  on  the  farm  in  the  day  time  and 
attending  school  at  night.  The  first  night  when  I  went 
to  bed  in  Tuskegee  I  found  myself  between  two  sheets, 
something  I  had  not  been  accustomed  to.  During  the 
night  an  officer  came  in  and  asked  me  some  questions 
about  night-shirts,  comb,  brush,  and  tooth  brush,  with 
all  of  which  I  was  but  slightly  familiar.  He  made  me 
get  up,  pull  off  my  shirt,  collar,  tie,  and  hose,  and  he  told 
me  I  would  rest  better  without  them.  I  thought  he  was 
playing  a  college  trick  on  me,  but  I  obeyed.  I  could  not 
see  the  reason  for  wearing  one  shirt  in  the  day  time  and 
a  different  one  at  night. 

Before  I  left  home  we  had  some  peculiar  ideas  about 
what  a  "college' '  (as  we  called  all  boarding-schools  at  that 
time)  was  like.  We  all  thought  it  was  composed  of  one 
immense  building  with,  say,  four  stories,  and  that  the 
first  year  you  were  at  school  you  were  placed  on  the  first 
floor,  and  promoted  from  floor  to  floor  until  you  reached 
the  top  floor,  when  you  would  have  finished  school.  Ex- 
ceptionally bright  students  might  skip  a  floor. 

Well,  it  so  happened  that  when  I  reached  Tuskegee  I 
was  placed  to  begin  with  in  the  attic,  and  there  was  great 
rejoicing  at  home  when  I  sent  back  the  intelligence  that 
I  was  on  the  highest  floor.  It  was  a  confirmation  of 
what  the  old  folks  at  home  had  said, — I  already  knew 
enough  without  going  to  school. 

My  education  began  at  Tuskegee  the  first  morning  the 


40  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

sun  rose  upon  me  there.  When  I  walked  out  upon  the 
campus  I  took  a  cursory  view  of  the  situation,  and  was 
startled  at  what  I  saw.  There,  before  my  eyes,  was  a 
huge  pair  of  mules  drawing  a  machine  plow,  which  to 
me  at  that  time  was  a  mystery.  To  my  right,  a  little  dis- 
tance, was  a  brick  machine  making  bricks  nearly  as  fast 
as  I  could  count.  To  the  rear  was  the  sawmill,  with  its 
throbbing  steam-engine,  turning  out  thousands  of  feet  of 
lumber  daily. 

There  were  girls  cultivating  the  flowers  and  picking 
berries,  and  boys  erecting  huge  brick  buildings,  while 
others,  suspended  high  in  the  air,  were  painting  buildings. 
Some  were  hitching  horses  and  driving  carriages,  while 
others  were  milking  cows  and  making  cheese.  Then 
there  were  great  fields  of  beef  cattle,  and  other  fields  of 
young  growing  horses  and  mules.  I  wandered  around 
among  these  things  until  I  came  to  the  blacksmith  shop. 
There  I  found  some  boys  studying  drawing,  and  others 
hammering  iron,  each  one  with  an  intense  earnestness 
that  I  had  never  seen  before  in  young  men. 

Close  by  was  the  machine  shop  where  molten  iron  was 
being  fashioned  into  various  articles,  from  plow-shares 
to  steam-engines. 

Out  on  the  parade  grounds  was  a  host  of  young  men 
dressed  in  beautiful  blue  uniforms  as  spotless  as  a  min- 
ister's robe,  marching  to  and  fro  about  the  campus  to  the 
exquisite  music  of  a  brass  band. 

All  these  groups  of  boys  and  girls  that  I  saw  were  pre- 
sided over  by  a  man  or  a  woman,  whom  I  afterward 
learned  was  an  instructor,  and  the  complete,  almost  ab- 
ject,  obedience  accorded  by  the   students   was   some- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  41 

thing  that  interested  me  greatly.  The  truth  was  that  I 
saw  so  many  things  there  that  day  that  I  was  bewildered, 
but  as  I  looked  about  me  it  gradually  dawned  on  me  that 
I  had  at  last  found  the  looked-for  opportunity. 

Simultaneously  with  this  opportunity  for  self-educa- 
tion came  many  real  hardships, — to  say  nothing  of  imag- 
inary ones, — which  nearly  ruined  my  health.  I  was 
poorly  clad,  and  the  winter  then  setting  in  was  unusually 
cold.  I  had  only  one  undershirt  and  one  pair  of  drawers. 
I  could  not,  of  course,  put  these  articles  in  the  laundry, 
and,  therefore,  I  had  to  pull  them  off  on  Saturday  nights, 
wash  them  in  my  room,  and  get  them  dry  enough  to  wear 
to  breakfast  Sunday  morning.  Consequently  many  Sun- 
day mornings  found  me  sitting  at  the  breakfast  table 
wearing  damp  underwear.  I  could  do  no  better  without 
leaving  school,  and  this  I  was  determined  not  to  do.  For- 
tunately, I  had  a  small  tough  frame  that  it  was  difficult 
to  shake.  Then,  too,  the  life  that  I  had  lived,  back  in 
the  country,  had  taught  me  to  rely  on  myself  in  times 
of  difficulty. 

I  now  recall  circumstances  that  assure  me  that  it  was 
only  my  determination  that  kept  me  at  Tuskegee  and 
enabled  me  to  enjoy  its  opportunities.  My  hardest  task, 
after  all,  was  to  ignore  the  advice  of  my  student  friends, 
who  were  always  saying  to  me :  "You  ought  to  go  home. 
This  work  is  too  hard  for  you.  This  old  school  is  work- 
ing you  to  death;  this  fare  of  cow  peas  and  bread  and 
molasses  will  kill  you.  What  you  need  is  nourishing 
food." 

These  arguments  were  hard  to  controvert,  especially 
when  there  was  truth  in  them,  for  Tuskegee  was  poor, 


42  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  had  difficulty  in  feeding  her  students  in  those  days. 
But  I  could  see  no  virtue  in  the  argument  so  long  as  the 
very  students  that  were  advising  me  were  themselves  fac- 
ing the  same  hardships. 

I  struggled  on,  and  was  at  length  promoted  from  the 
position  of  a  common  laborer  to  that  of  a  hostler  in 
charge  of  all  the  boys  dealing  with  horses,  and  then  to 
the  much-sought  position  of  special  assistant  to  the  farm 
manager. 


CHAPTER   III 

But  my  most  vivid  recollections  are  of  Dr.  Washing- 
ton as  he  appeared  to  me  in  those  days.  He  was  at  that 
time  a  young  man,  about  thirty-five  years  old.  He  was 
not  in  any  way  striking  in  appearance,  but  there  was  a 
peculiarity  about  him  that  I  could  not  understand  then, 
nor  can  I  understand  it  now.  I  was  for  a  time  his  office 
boy,  and  I  tried  hard  to  understand  him,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  please  him.  After  considerable  time  in  his  office  I 
learned  to  know  his  ways  pretty  well.  At  any  rate,  when 
I  was  ready  to  leave  the  office  to  go  into  other  depart- 
ments of  the  school  he  seemed  really  grieved. 

Tuskegee  was  a  crude  place  at  that  time,  compared  to 
what  it  has  become  since.  There  were  no  local  tele- 
phones, so  that  when  a  message  was  to  be  delivered  from 
one  part  of  the  campus  to  another,  sometimes  a  distance 
of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  it  had  to  be  sent  by  the  office  boy. 
Mr.  Washington  used  to  remark  at  times,  where  I  feel 
sure  he  thought  I  could  hear  him,  that  I  was  the  only  boy 
he  had  found  who  could  deliver  a  message  quickly  enough 
for  him.  This  was  one  of  his  methods  of  encouraging 
boys,  and  it  certainly  did  encourage  me ;  for  when  I  car- 
ried a  message,  after  hearing  a  remark  like  that  from 
Mr.  Washington,  I  always  ran  the  whole  distance  to  my 
destination  and  back. 

One  thing  about  Mr.  Washington  that  impressed  me 


44  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

was  his  regularity.  He  was  as  regular  as  the  clock.  He 
appeared  at  his  office  in  the  morning  exactly  at  eight 
o'clock,  remained  until  twelve,  very  often  took  part  in  an 
Executive  Council  meeting  until  one,  and  then  went  to 
lunch.  At  two  o'clock  he  would  again  be  in  his  office  and 
would  invariably  remain  there  until  half -past  four,  when 
he  would  leave  and  tramp  across  the  plantation;  some- 
times he  would  run  for  a  mile  or  two,  as  fast  as  he  could 
go,  for  exercise.  When  he  returned  he  would  go  to  his 
library  and  there  would  pass  the  time  until  six,  when  he 
would  go  to  dinner.  After  dinner  he  played  with  the 
children  for  a  while  and  then  returned  to  his  library  until 
8 140.  He  would  then  go  to  Chapel  for  evening  prayers 
with  the  whole  student  body.  This  prayer  service  was 
one  that  Mr.  Washington  seldom  ever  missed  and  he  al- 
ways appeared  on  the  rostrum  exactly  on  the  minute. 

Mr.  Washington  had  a  grasp  of  the  details  of  the  work 
of  Tuskegee  that  seemed  almost  incredible.  I  remember 
one  evening  that  I  was  startled  to  hear  my  name,  to- 
gether with  that  of  one  of  my  friends,  called  out  by  Mr. 
Washington  from  the  chapel  platform.  He  simply  said, 
"William  Holtzclaw  and  Charles  Washington  may  rise." 
I  was  so  weak  in  my  knees  that  I  could  scarcely  stand, 
but  I  knew  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  rise  at  the  command 
of  that  voice.  After  we  stood  up  and  the  whole  school 
was  looking  at  us,  Mr.  Washington  simply  said :  "These 
young  men  may  pass  out  of  the  Chapel  and  go  and  pick 
up  the  tools  they  worked  with  to-day."  We  had  been 
ditching  and  when  the  work-bell  rang  had  left  our  tools 
where  we  were  working,  when  they  should  have  been 
carried  to  the  tool-house. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  45 

If  the  water  main,  or  water  pipe,  had  a  defect  in  it  so 
that  it  was  leaking  anywhere  on  the  grounds,  Mr.  Wash- 
ington was  almost  sure  to  see  that  something  was  wrong 
and  to  call  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Industries. 

If  he  came  into  the  dining-room  while  the  students 
were  eating  their  meals,  he  would  notice  such  small  de- 
tails as  a  student's  pouring  out  more  molasses  on  his 
plate  than  he  could  eat  and  would  stop  in  the  dining- 
room,  send  for  the  matron,  have  some  bread  brought  to 
the  student,  and  wait  until  that  student  had  eaten  all  the 
molasses  he  had  poured  on  his  plate. 

If  one  walked  about  the  campus  at  night,  he  would  be 
sure  to  meet  Mr.  Washington  almost  anywhere  on  the 
grounds.  For  instance,  he  might  be  found  in  the  kitchen 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  examining  the  method  of 
preparing  the  students'  breakfast.  He  seldom  seemed  to 
me  to  take  sufficient  rest  for  an  average  man. 

One  thing  that  impressed  me  very  much  in  regard  to 
Mr.  Washington's  character  was  the  way  he  could  con- 
centrate his  mind  on  a  subject.  It  seemed  that  when  he 
was  thinking  about  one  thing  everything  else  left  him. 
He  was  often  completely  oblivious  of  his  surroundings. 

One  night  he  came  to  my  room  and,  calling  me,  told  me 
to  go  to  the  barn  and  get  him  a  horse  and  buggy  at  once ; 
he  went  so  far  as  to  tell  me  that  some  legal  matters  had 
to  be  attended  to.  This  was  about  ten  o'clock.  In  a  few 
minutes  I  had  the  horse  and  buggy  at  his  door  and  drove 
him  down  to  the  town  of  Tuskegee,  a  mile  away,  to  the 
office  of  a  lawyer.  After  about  an  hour  he  came  out  of 
the  office  to  the  buggy,  where  I  was  holding  the  horse, 


46  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  told  me  he  would  not  have  finished  his  business  with 
the  lawyer  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  if  I  cared  to,  I 
could  leave  the  horse  and  buggy  there  and  walk  back  to 
school,  and  he  would  bring  them  when  he  came.  This 
I  did,  while  he  proceeded  with  his  conference  with  the 
lawyer.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  knocked  again 
on  my  door  and,  handing  me  a  half  dollar,  asked  if  I 
would  not  go  back  down  town  and  get  the  horse  and 
buggy,  as  he  had  come  away  and  forgotten  them. 

More  than  once  when  Dr.  Washington  would  be  dic- 
tating some  very  important  letter  to  his  stenographer  he 
would  stop  for  a  few  minutes  to  think  seriously  about 
some  phase  of  the  matter  under  consideration,  when  he 
would  become  so  oblivious  of  what  was  going  on  that 
he  would  forget  the  existence  of  the  stenographer,  and 
would  ring  for  me,  his  office  boy,  and  tell  me  to  send  in 
the  very  stenographer  that  was  then  before  him. 

In  matters  of  dress  Mr.  Washington  was  exceedingly 
scrupulous.  He  never  wore  any  superfluous  clothes, 
never  used  a  cane  in  walking,  nor  did  he  cumber  himself 
with  anything  that  could  with  decency  be  dispensed  with, 
but  he  would  never  wear  any  garment  that  was  not  im- 
maculately clean.  He  changed  his  clothes  often,  and  was 
always  very  careful  to  keep  his  top  clothes  pressed  prop- 
erly. 

We  students  all  loved  him.  We  would  do  anything  for 
him.  As  an  illustration  of  our  confidence  in  Mr.  Wash- 
ington, I  recall  that  in  1898,  when  I  was  a  member  of 
the  senior  class,  the  chaplain  of  the  9th  Cavalry,  then 
preparing  to  go  to  the  Spanish-American  war  in  Cuba, 
came  by  the  school  to  get  recruits.     This  chaplain, — 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  47 

with  the  rank  of  captain,  I  believe, — addressed  the  young 
men  in  the  chapel  on  the  subject  of  joining  the  9th  Cav- 
alry, and  he  asked  Mr.  Washington  to  say  a  few  words. 
Mr.  Washington,  of  course,  was  too  wise  to  advise  any 
of  the  young  men  to  go  to  war,  but  he  spoke  of  patriot- 
ism and  of  duty  to  one's  country  in  a  general  way,  and 
left  the  impression  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  those 
who  felt  like  doing  so  to  join  the  9th  Cavalry.  When 
the  meeting  was  over,  however,  a  great  many  of  us  were 
confused.  We  could  not  decide  within  ourselves  whether 
Mr.  Washington  really  meant  for  us  to  go  to  war  or  not, 
so  we  called  a  meeting  and  discussed  among  ourselves 
whether  or  not  Mr.  Washington  wished  us  to  go  to  war, 
and  every  boy  in  the  house  seemed  to  be  of  one  mind, 
and  that  was  that  Mr.  Washington  really  meant  what  he 
had  said  in  his  talk,  and  that  if  he  desired  us  to  go  and 
join  the  9th  Cavalry,  we  were  all  ready  to  go.  For  my- 
self, I  was  already  convinced  that  Mr.  Washington  de- 
sired that  some  of  us  should  go,  and  so  I  was  ready  to  go 
and  did  go  to  the  recruiting  office  in  the  town  the  next 
day  and  offered  myself  as  a  recruit,  but  I  had  been  in  the 
school  eight  years  and  my  health  was  so  poor  that  I  could 
not  pass  the  examination;  therefore  I  did  not  have  the 
pleasure  of  joining  the  9th  Cavalry.  It  was  more  a  de- 
sire to  please  Mr.  Washington,  however,  than  patriotism 
that  caused  me  to  try  to  join.  So  anxious  was  I  to  do 
what  I  thought  was  Mr.  Washington's  wish  that  after  I 
had  graduated,  a  few  months  later,  I  went  to  Whites- 
burg,  Ga.,  and  raised  a  company  of  my  own  in  the  hope 
of  getting  it  through  to  Cuba,  but  before  it  was  drilled 
into  shape  the  war  came  to  a  close. 


48  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

This  all  goes  to  show  what  a  grip  Mr.  Washington 
had  on  his  students,  and  he  had  the  same  influence  over 
the  young  women  that  he  had  over  the  young  men.  He 
was  always  kind  and  considerate.  If  he  scolded  you  and 
you  took  offence  at  it,  he  would  laugh  at  you.  I  have 
seen  him  administer  some  severe  verbal  punishments  to 
students,  but  I  never  saw  him  in  all  my  stay  at  Tuskegee 
become  angry  with  any  of  the  students,  though  I  have 
often  seen  him  try  to  make  students  believe  that  he  was 
angry. 

I  have  come  in  contact  with  Mr.  Washington  con- 
stantly since  those  years,  even  until  the  present  time,  and 
I  have  seen  very  little  change  in  him.  His  character,  as 
it  manifested  itself  in  those  days,  remains  the  same,  so 
far  as  I  am  able  to  see.  If  he  becomes  excited  at  any 
time,  it  is  always  when  other  people  are  quiet,  and  when 
other  people  are  excited  Mr.  Washington  is  always  quiet. 
Taken  all  in  all,  I  have  never  seen  another  man  who  im- 
pressed me  in  the  same  way  that  Mr.  Washington  does. 

Tuskegee  was  not  so  large  as  it  is  now,  and  one  man, 
Mr.  C.  W.  Green,  had  charge  of  the  farm,  brick-yard, 
truck  gardening,  stock  raising,  and  several  other  similar 
departments.  For  this  work  he  required  several  fore- 
men, who  were  appointed  from  among  the  young  men 
that  showed  ability  to  lead  the  other  boys.  He  had  some 
peculiar  ways  of  testing  the  boys.  I  remember  that  his 
final  trial  in  my  case  was  to  sound  my  honesty  in  regard 
to  money  matters. 

One  day  he  went  away  from  the  school  hurriedly  and 
while  leaving  he  told  me  to  get  his  trousers  and  have 
them  pressed  for  him  by  the  time  he  returned.    When  I 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  49 

went  to  get  them  I  found  they  had  a  large  wad  of  money 
in  the  pocket.  I  took  it  out  carefully,  counted  it,  and 
buried  it  in  the  ground  in  a  secluded  spot. 

When  Mr.  Green  returned  one  of  the  first  things  he 
wanted  to  know  was  about  the  money.  I  led  him  to  the 
lonely  spot  and  dug  it  up  and  gave  it  to  him.  His  remark 
was :  "I  guess  you  will  do.  There  is  a  place  I  have  in 
mind  for  you."  The  next  day  he  suggested  to  Mr.  Wash- 
ington that  he  take  me  out  of  school  and  make  me  fore- 
man on  the  farm,  to  begin  with  a  salary  of  thirty  dollars 
a  month  and  to  have  one  meal  daily  with  the  teachers.  If 
I  succeeded  in  the  work,  I  was  to  have  further  promo- 
tion, both  in  salary  and  in  the  distinction  of  having  my 
three  meals  with  the  teachers,  thus  virtually  becoming  a 
member  of  the  faculty. 

As  I  was  still  in  the  preparatory  grades,  it  was  with 
reluctance  that  Mr.  Washington  agreed  to  this  proposi- 
tion, but  I  was  notified  of  the  plan.  After  having  con- 
sidered it  for  a  week,  I  respectfully  declined  to  accept  the 
offer,  and  I  went  into  the  Printing  Office,  to  begin  a  four- 
year-study  of  that  trade. 

I  wanted  to  learn  what  was  in  books.  I  was  fond  of 
reading  and  of  study,  and  printing  was  and  still  is  very 
interesting  to  me.  I  carried  a  book  with  me  everywhere 
I  went,  so  as  not  to  lose  a  second  of  my  time.  While 
driving  my  mules,  with  a  load  of  wood,  I  would  read 
until  I  had  reached  the  place  of  unloading.  Mr.  Wash- 
ington took  note  of  this  and  on  one  occasion,  while  ad- 
monishing the  students  to  make  good  use  of  their  time, 
he  said :  "There  is  a  young  man  on  the  grounds  who 
will  be  heard  from  some  day,  because  of  his  intense  ap- 


50  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

plication  to  study  and  diligence  in  his  work."  From  some 
of  the  circumstances  I  knew  that  he  was  speaking  of  me. 
The  fact  that  I  might  be  "heard  from"  later  made  me 
double  my  resolutions. 

In  September,  1891,  I  had  one  hundred  dollars  to  my 
credit  in  the  treasury  of  the  Institution,  so  that  I  was 
now  ready  to  enter  the  day  school,  to  measure  arms  with 
the  more  fortunate  students.  But  sickness  overtook  me, 
and  when  I  emerged  from  the  hospital  after  about  two 
months  of  illness  my  doctor's  bill  was  a  hundred  dollars 
and  my  accumulated  credit  went  to  pay  it. 

This  was  the  penalty  that  I  had  to  pay  for  trying  to 
make  too  rapidly  the  transit  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
civilization.  When  I  lived  without  undergarments  at 
home  my  health  was  conserved,  because  of  the  uniformity 
of  my  habits.  At  college  it  had  been  injured  because  I 
could  wear  proper  garments  one  week,  but  might  not  be 
able  to  do  so  the  next.  Moreover,  Tuskegee  gave  me 
such  living  rooms  as  I  had  never  lived  in  before,  as 
hitherto  I  had  lived  in  log  houses,  which  are  self -ventilat- 
ing. Now  I  had  either  too  much  ventilation  or  none  at 
all. 

Whenever  I  hear  people  talk  about  the  high  death- 
rate  of  colored  people,  I  cannot  help  recalling  my  own 
experiences,  not  only  in  the  circumstances  just  stated, 
but  in  hundreds  of  others,  from  the  time  I  can  remember 
until  within  a  few  years  ago.  As  our  people  emerge 
from  a  lower  to  a  higher  civilization  there  is  bound  to  be 
more  or  less  falling  by  the  wayside.  It  is  not  an  easy 
matter  to  live  for  years  in  a  house  that  has  no  windows, 
— in  which  the  only  light  comes  through  the  cracks  or 


Emmett  J.  Scott 

(See  page  226) 

Secretary,    Tuskegee    Normal    and    Industrial     Institute;     Secretary,     National 

Negro  Business  League 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  51 

the  open  door  even  in  the  winter  time,  in  rain  and  in 
storm, — then  suddenly  to  find  oneself  the  occupant  of  a 
well-built  house,  with  glass  windows  and  other  comforts, 
and  trying  to  adjust  oneself  readily  to  these  new  condi- 
tions. 

I  have  known  people,  who  had  been  poor  all  their  days, 
to  become  suddenly  the  possessors  of  what  to  them  was 
wealth.  They  would  move  into  a  good  house,  the  first 
they  had  ever  lived  in,  and  in  less  than  two  years  several 
members  of  the  family  would  die,  and  everybody  would 
say  that  the  good  house  had  killed  them. 

I  used  to  wonder  how  it  was  that  a  good  house  could 
kill  black  folks  and  never  affect  the  whites.  The  truth 
is,  as  I  afterward  learned,  that  when  people  who  have 
always  been  accustomed  to  wear  inexpensive  clothes  find 
themselves  in  a  position  to  buy  woolen  underwear  they 
very  often  wear  the  woolen  underwear  alternately  with 
cotton,  which  of  course  will  be  disastrous  to  any  man, 
whether  he  be  black  or  white.  This  is  only  one  of  the 
thousand  reasons  why  the  black  people  in  passing  from  a 
lower  to  a  higher  civilization  show  such  a  high  death- 
rate. 

After  my  illness  I  went  home  to  recuperate,  but  I  re- 
turned to  Tuskegee  within  a  few  weeks.  As  I  had  no 
money,  I  was  again  permitted  to  enter  the  night  school 
and  work  during  the  day.  This  time,  as  I  have  said,  I 
took  up  the  printer's  trade.  Here  I  broke  the  conven- 
tional rule  of  acting  "devil"  for  six  months,  and  began 
setting  type  after  having  been  one  month  in  the  office. 
Within  six  months  I  was  one  of  the  school's  regular 


52  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

compositors,  and  within  one  term  I  had  sufficient  credit 
with  the  treasurer  to  enter  the  day  school. 

But  I  was  not  yet  to  enter.  A  letter  came  from  my 
father,  saying,  "If  you  wish  to  see  me  again  alive,  I  think 
it  will  be  well  to  come  at  once."  I  went,  and  my  father 
died  in  a  few  days  after  I  reached  home, — June  27,  1893. 
All  hope  of  future  schooling  seemed  now  at  an  end.  My 
only  thought  was  to  do  the  best  I  could  with  the  heavy 
load  left  on  my  hands.  I  pulled  off  my  school  clothes, 
went  to  the  field,  and  finished  the  crop  Father  had 
started.  He  had  left  a  heavy  debt,  so  I  began  to  teach 
school  in  order  to  pay  it. 

Of  course  I  knew  little,  but  I  taught  what  I  did  know 
— and  I  suppose  some  things  that  I  did  not.  I  think, 
even  now,  that  I  did  the  people  in  that  community  some 
good.  I  made  them  whitewash  their  fences  and  clean  up 
their  houses  and  premises  generally,  just  as  I  had  been 
taught  to  do  at  Tuskegee.  The  white  people,  to  whom 
belonged  the  huts  in  which  the  Negroes  lived,  were  much 
pleased  at  the  way  I  taught  the  people  to  improve  their 
surroundings,  and  when  I  was  ready  to  go  they  made  me 
a  flattering  offer  to  remain. 

This  was  a  very  poor  community.  There  was  no 
schoolhouse  except  a  little  abandoned  log  cabin,  which 
was  given  by  a  white  man  on  condition  that  we  fix  it  up. 
I  could  not  get  many  people  interested  at  first,  so  I  took 
the  boys  whom  I  could  interest,  together  with  a  few  of 
the  girls.  We  made  mortar  of  mud  with  which  we 
stopped  the  cracks  until  the  house  was  air  tight,  and  we 
also  made  a  mud  ceiling.    There  were  no  windows  nor 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  53 

shutters.  It  was  not  a  government  school,  but  had  to 
be  paid  for  by  those  who  sent  their  children. 

I  taught  three  months  and  received  in  cash  one  dollar, 
but  the  produce  I  received  was  something  wonderful.  I 
told  them  I  would  take  corn,  peas,  potatoes,  molasses, 
pork,  shucks,  cottonseed, — in  fact,  anything  with  which 
they  wished  to  pay  me.  Wagons  were  secured  and 
loaded;  for  several  days  all  sorts  of  provisions  were 
hauled  to  my  mother's  house  and  stored  away  for  winter. 

Not  all  the  patrons,  however,  were  willing  to  pay. 
Some  would  dodge  me  when  they  saw  me  coming  with 
my  wagons  to  get  some  produce.  At  one  time  when  I 
drove  up  to  a  gate  and  called  for  the  man  of  the  house 
the  little  girl  who  had  been  one  of  my  pupils  came  to  the 
door  and  said:  "Come  on,  Professor;  Papa  is  under  the 
bed.  He  said,  Tell  him  I  am  not  in.'  "  Before  I  got  in, 
however,  I  heard  the  mother  say:  "Come  out  from 
under  there,  ol'  man,  and  give  this  teacher  some  satisfac- 
tion for  what  he  has  done  for  your  children."  And  by 
the  time  I  got  in  the  house  he  was  standing  up  as  straight 
as  a  Sioux  chief.  Suffice  it  to  say,  I  got  two  fine  sides 
of  meat  from  that  house  and  a  barrel  of  molasses.  Once 
you  get  a  colored  man  upon  his  feet,  there  is  no  telling 
what  you  can  get  out  of  him. 

I  called  at  another  woman's  house  to  make  a  collection. 
She  met  me  at  the  gate  and  said :  "  'Fore  God,  'Fessor, 
I  ain't  got  a  thing  that  I  can  give  you.  I  ain't  got  noth- 
ing here  but  the  cat  you  see  behind  me.  If  you  want 
him,  you  can  have  him."  She  was  eager  to  pay,  so  I 
accepted  the  cat  and  allowed  her  one  dollar  for  it,  and  I 
turned  it  loose  before  I  got  out  of  sight.     At  another 


54  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

house  where  I  went  for  a  collection  the  good  woman 
looked  all  over  the  house  to  see  what  she  could  find  to 
give  me.  There  was  nothing  of  value  but  a  pair  of  scis- 
sors. She  took  them  and  forced  them  into  my  pocket 
against  my  protest,  saying  that  I  must  have  something 
for  the  work  I  had  done  for  her  children.  In  this  way 
I  taught  school  for  three  years,  and  so  managed  to  sup- 
port my  mother  and  her  family. 

During  the  winter  of  1893-4  I  taught  in  Whitesburg, 
Georgia,  a  little  village  on  the  C.  R.  C.  railroad,  between 
Atlanta  and  Carrolton,  Ga.  Here  I  found  the  Negroes 
still  a  power  in  Georgia  politics.  The  Hon.  Bob  Sewall, 
the  man  with  whom  I  boarded,  was  the  boss  Negro  poli- 
tician of  that  congressional  district,  a  district  that  after- 
ward became  known  as  Congressman  Adams's  district. 
In  political  conventions  I  have  seen  him  have  every  white 
man  in  attendance,  including  some  eminent  lawyers, 
fought  to  a  standstill, — "beaten  to  a  frazzle,"  so  to  speak. 

Gradually,  these  white  Republicans  grew  weary  of  his 
domination,  and  they  began  a  systematic  effort  to  elimi- 
nate the  Negro  from  the  party,  or,  to  state  it  in  another 
way,  they  began  an  attempt  to  set  up  a  white  wing  to 
the  party.  To  make  the  matter  plain,  I  had  been  ap- 
pointed "secretary"  to  the  Hon.  Bob,  and  was  in  reality 
at  the  head  of  the  Republican  party  in  that  district.  For 
Uncle  Bob,  as  I  called  him,  could  read  and  write  with 
difficulty,  but  he  was  a  good  speaker.  I  wrote  all  his 
letters  and  newspaper  articles,  and  composed  all  his 
speeches.  It  always  amazed  me  to  see  how  much  natural 
power  he  displayed  in  delivering  those  compositions. 

But  the  white  Republicans  kept  after  Uncle  Bob's  scalp. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  55 

At  length,  he  came  to  me  one  day  and  said,  "Sec,  some- 
thing must  be  done.  Those  fellows  are  going  to  beat  me 
unless  something  can  be  done."  I  told  him  I  would  take 
the  matter  in  hand.  Our  first  move  was  to  begin  the  fight 
through  the  columns  of  the  local  Democratic  papers,  for 
there  was  no  Republican  paper. 

The  first  article,  which  called  forth  applause  and  com- 
ment from  seventeen  Democratic  papers,  was  signed 
"Clodknocker."  In  it  I  appealed  to  the  black  Republicans 
to  cut  loose  from  the  half-hearted  white  Republicans,  and 
I  showed  that  those  who  called  themselves  the  "White 
Wing"  were  in  reality  only  a  white  feather  in  the  wing 
of  a  Republican  blackbird,  as  the  party  was  nine-tenths 
black. 

I  then  asked  what  constituted  a  true  Republican.  In 
answer  I  quoted  from  General  Grant's  "Memoirs"  and 
showed  clearly,  from  General  Grant's  definition  of  a  Re- 
publican, that  there  was  not  a  single  white  man  in  Carroll 
County  who  could  be  called  a  Republican.  That  article 
killed  the  white  wing  of  the  Republican  party  in  that 
county  as  dead  as  a  doornail,  for  when  the  general  con- 
vention met  three  weeks  later  only  one  white  Republican 
was  there.  The  last  time  I  heard  of  Carroll  County  that 
white  wing  was  still  dead,  but  the  black  wing  was  also 
gone. 

Up  to  this  time  all  this  tirade  in  the  papers  had  been 
accredited  to  Uncle  Bob,  but  it  now  leaked  out  that  I  was 
the  culprit,  and  I  at  once  became  popular,  an  honor  to 
which  I  had  never  aspired.  There  now  came  showers  of 
letters  and  invitations  to  write  articles  for  county  papers 
or  to  address  political  meetings  of  many  kinds.     I  had 


56  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

offers  of  money  for  my  influence  in  the  campaign  that 
elected  a  Democratic  governor,  Atkinson,  but  I  never  ac- 
cepted a  single  dollar  from  any  one  for  such  service, 
though  I  wrote  articles  and  delivered  numerous  addresses. 

All  this,  however,  was  a  sort  of  pastime  to  me.  I  was 
all  the  while  teaching  school  and  trying  to  improve  my 
meager  education  by  study.  My  aspiration  was  to  be  the 
leading  teacher  in  that  county,  for  the  man  who  held  that 
honor  could  not  have  made  the  third  grade,  in  an  honest 
examination,  to  save  himself ;  nevertheless,  he  held  a  first 
grade  certificate. 

Because  of  my  efforts  to  insure  honesty  in  the  exam- 
inations I  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  leading  teachers 
in  one  county  in  which  I  taught.  To  obtain  a  third  grade 
license  in  that  county,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  pay 
the  president  of  the  teachers'  "Passing  Club"  five  dollars, 
and  you  got  the  license;  ten  dollars,  and  you  got  the 
second  grade;  fifteen  dollars,  and  you  got  the  first  grade. 
It  was  because  of  my  efforts  to  expose  these  methods 
that  I  lost  my  popularity  with  the  teachers. 

"How  could  these  people  write  grade  papers?"  was  the 
question,  and  for  its  answer  the  good  old  superintendent 
of  education  in  that  county  would  have  given  a  great  deal. 
The  examinations  were  taken  under  the  inspection  of 
himself  and  three  other  persons,  all  with  nothing  to  do 
but  to  see  that  each  man  took  a  fair  examination.  I  have 
seen  teachers  come  into  the  examination  room  with  tablet 
and  pencil,  who,  being  under  suspicion,  would  be  placed 
in  seats  of  honor  in  the  center  of  the  room,  where  they 
would  remain  all  day,  sleeping  fully  half  the  time.  They 
would  not  write  more  than  two  pages  during  the  two 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  57 

days  that  the  examination  lasted;  yet,  when  the  papers 
would  be  graded,  they  would  receive  the  first  grade,  and 
what  is  more,  their  papers  would  be  excellent.  How  was 
it  done?  Easily  enough.  The  principal  of  the  city 
school  at  the  county  seat  was  president  of  the  "Passing 
Club/'  When  the  white  superintendent  would  send  to 
Atlanta  for  a  tablet  of  some  special  color  to  be  used  in 
the  examinations,  the  president  of  the  club  would  find 
out  where  he  obtained  them,  and  would  proceed  to  get 
some  of  the  same  kind  and  hide  them  over  at  his  house. 
After  the  examination  would  be  over,  the  superintendent 
would  gather  up  the  tablets  and  lock  them  in  a  room  of 
the  Court  House  that  was  provided  for  that  purpose. 
Within  ten  days  he  and  his  commissioners  would  meet, 
unlock  the  door,  and  examine  and  grade  the  tablets. 
Meanwhile,  the  president  of  the  club  and  his  aids  would 
have  removed  the  original  tablets  by  night,  and  would 
have  placed  in  their  stead  the  others  all  prepared  by  ex- 
perts. What  could  the  superintendent  do  but  give  first 
grade  to  those  persons  whose  papers  apparently  deserved 
it? 

Having  secured  the  aid  of  a  few  teachers  and  minis- 
ters, I  commenced  a  crusade  against  these  frauds,  and 
when  I  left  Georgia  the  practice  in  Carroll  County  was 
nearly  stopped. 

But  my  mother  still  wished  me  to  be  educated.  At 
length,  she  married  again,  for  no  higher  reason  than  to 
permit  me  and  the  other  children,  who  were  growing  up, 
to  go  to  school.  My  hopes  for  an  education  were  now 
again  renewed,  and  I  began  to  get  ready  to  go  back  to 


58  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Tuskegee,  where  nearly  everybody  had  forgotten  my  ex- 
istence. 

Like  other  politicians,  however,  I  was  without  money. 
I  went  to  Governor  Atkinson,  then  Democratic  Governor 
of  Georgia,  to  borrow  a  few  dollars  until  school  should 
close.  He  knew  me  well  by  reputation,  and  although  he 
was  himself  a  poor  man,  he  readily  gave  me  the  money 
as  a  gift,  and  also  a  little  kindly  lecture  on  the  advisa- 
bility of  staying  out  of  politics.  The  good  Governor  died 
shortly  after  that,  but  I  have  ever  since  followed  his 
advice. 


CHAPTER   IV 

Things  went  smoothly  for  a  while,  now  that  I  was 
back  at  Tuskegee.  Then  my  brother  came,  and  I  had  to 
help  support  him.  As  soon  as  I  had  adjusted  myself  to 
this  situation  a  letter  came  from  my  thirteen-year-old 
sister,  who  was  then  hired  out  to  a  hotel  as  chambermaid. 
The  letter  read:  "I  cannot  amount  to  anything  if  I  stay 
here.  I  want  to  be  something.  Will  you  help  me?" 
There  was  no  alternative,  so  I  sent  for  her  at  once. 
Knowing  that  I  should  have  to  support  her  almost  wholly, 
I  was  almost  in  despair. 

At  one  time  I  had  only  one  pair  of  trousers,  and  they 
had  been  worn  until  they  were  threadbare.  I  had  patched 
them  so  often  and  so  long  that  the  patches  refused  to 
hold,  therefore  it  was  necessary  to  devise  some  other  way 
to  mend  them.  Being  a  printer  and  bookbinder,  I  knew 
the  properties  of  printers'  glue,  and  so  I  used  to  do  my 
patching  on  Sunday  at  the  printing  office  while  the  others 
were  attending  the  services.  I  remember  that  on  one 
occasion  while  Bishop  Derrick  was  preaching  one  of  his 
most  powerful  sermons  in  the  chapel  I  was  patching  my 
trousers  in  the  printing  office,  and  by  the  time  he  had 
finished  his  sermon  I  had  finished  my  trousers.  His  text 
was :  "Remember  the  Sabbath  to  keep  it  holy."  I  was 
eager  to  do  this,  but  I  found  it  difficult  to  reconcile  the 
Holy  Sabbath  with  holey  trousers.    These  patches  looked 


60  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

well,  while  they  lasted,  but  the  ingredients  in  the  glue 
further  injured  the  cloth  so  that  within  a  few  days  the 
patches  began  to  fall  off,  one  by  one,  taking  more  cloth 
with  them.  In  my  embarrassment,  I  went  to  one  of  the 
teachers,  from  whom  I  thought  I  could  get  some  sym- 
pathy and  perhaps  a  pair  of  trousers;  but  I  got  neither. 
What  I  did  get  was  a  dignified  lecture  on  independence 
and  self-reliance.  After  that  I  made  up  my  mind  that 
I  would  go  naked  before  I  would  ask  for  another  gar- 
ment. Mrs.  Washington  came  to  my  rescue  and  pro- 
vided me  with  a  fine  second-hand  Prince  Albert  suit, 
which  she  had  found  among  the  second-hand  clothes  sent 
to  the  school  by  kind  friends  to  meet  just  such  emer- 
gencies. My  fellow-students,  both  boys  and  girls,  made 
all  sorts  of  faces  at  me  when  I  appeared  in  my  new  suit, 
calling  me  'Treacher,"  "Reverend,"  "Doc,"  and  other 
similar  names.  This  did  not  lessen  my  gratitude  to  Mrs. 
Washington,  for  the  Prince  Albert  suit  enabled  me  to 
remain  in  school. 

Shortly  afterward  I  was  made  a  substitute  teacher  in 
the  night  school  at  Tuskegee  at  eight  dollars  a  month, 
and  my  pecuniary  burdens  came  to  an  end. 

Toward  the  end  of  my  senior  year  I  decided  to  com- 
pete for  the  Trinity  prize  of  twenty- five  dollars,  which 
was  offered  for  the  best  original  oration.  Remembering 
Mr.  Washington's  constant  advice  that  a  man  gets  out  of 
a  thing  just  what  he  puts  into  it,  I  tried  to  put  one  hun- 
dred dollars'  worth  into  my  oration.  Fortunately,  no 
other  contestant  put  in  quite  so  much. 

During  this  my  last  year  at  school  I  received  many 
offers  of  work  as  a  teacher  in  other  schools.    Tuskegee 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  61 

also  offered  me  a  place  as  a  teacher  in  its  academic  de- 
partment, but  my  mind  was  made  up.  In  the  first  place, 
I  had  from  childhood  wished  to  be  a  lawyer,  but  my 
father,  in  his  lifetime,  as  well  as  my  mother,  was  op- 
posed to  my  studying  for  that  profession.  Father  wished 
me  to  be  a  teacher,  and  just  before  his  death  he  called  me 
to  his  bedside  and  repeated  his  wish, — that  I  lay  aside 
the  thought  of  studying  law  and  become  a  teacher  of  my 
people.  He  had  some  very  peculiar  ideas  about  lawyers. 
With  him  the  name  was  synonymous  with  "liar." 

If  anything  more  than  his  wishes  had  been  needed  to 
change  my  ideas  regarding  the  study  of  law,  it  would 
have  been  found  in  my  career  at  Tuskegee,  which  cer- 
tainly does  not  encourage  the  study  of  law,  although  it 
may  not  directly  discourage  it.  Mr.  Washington's  con- 
stant advice  to  us  in  his  Sunday  evening  talks  was  that 
after  leaving  school  we  should  go  into  one  of  the  remote 
rural  districts,  where  we  were  most  needed,  and  teach. 
For  eight  years  I  had  listened  to  this  kind  of  teaching 
and  this,  added  to  my  father's  wishes,  made  it  seem  that 
there  was  nothing  else  for  me  to  do  but  to  find  one  of 
those  backwoods  places  and  render  it  whatever  service 
I  could. 

Mr.  Washington's  arguments  were  often  reinforced 
by  stories  from  his  own  experiences.  Here  is  one  that 
I  remember : 

He  once  called  upon  a  woman  somewhere  in  Massa- 
chusetts to  solicit  a  contribution  for  Tuskegee.  The 
woman,  who  was  poor  herself,  went  into  a  corner  of  the 
house  and  pulled  from  a  hiding-place  a  few  pennies, 
which  she  gave  him.    Meantime  she  explained  that  she 


62  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

was  poor,  and  really  had  no  money  to  give  to  charity; 
but  she  was  so  eager  that  the  struggling  boys  and  girls  at 
Tuskegee  should  have  a  chance  to  educate  themselves  that 
she  refused  to  use  matches  in  her  house,  and  used  strips 
of  paper  instead,  for  lighting  her  lamps.  In  this  way  she 
saved  her  match  money  for  the  aid  of  Tuskegee.  This 
so  impressed  me  that  I  felt  bound  to  try  to  be  worthy  of 
such  generosity. 

So  I  refused  all  positions  that  were  offered  to  me  and 
determined  to  go  to  Mississippi,  which  to  my  mind  was 
the  darkest  section  of  the  South  for  a  colored  man.  I 
had  no  money,  for  the  prize  money  that  I  had  won  in  the 
oratorical  contest  had  to  be  used  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  my  mother,  who  came  to  see  me  graduated.  While  I 
was  debating  as  to  what  I  should  do,  or  rather  how  I 
could  get  away  from  Tuskegee,  Mr.  William  J.  Edwards, 
who  had  graduated  at  Tuskegee  five  years  before,  crossed 
my  path.  I  told  him  of  my  plans  to  go  to  Mississippi, 
and  to  try  to  do  what  he  was  doing  in  the  southern  part 
of  Alabama,  where  he  had  founded  an  industrial  school, 
then  five  years  old. 

He  showed  great  interest  in  my  project  and  invited  me 
to  take  a  position  at  Snow  Hill  and  remain  there  until 
such  time  as  I  should  be  in  a  position  to  carry  out  my 
plans  in  Mississippi.  I  accepted  a  position  as  a  printer 
in  that  school.  The  school  had  no  printing  office,  but  a 
good  friend  of  his  had  given  to  it  a  little  press.  I  knew 
the  printer's  trade,  so  I  set  up  the  press  and  got  ready  for 
work.  But  there  was  no  type.  I  organized  the  teachers, 
— eight  in  all, — into  a  publishing  company  and  induced 
each  one  of  them  to  contribute  a  dollar  out  of  their  small 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  63 

wages.  Mr.  R.  O.  Simpson, — a  Southern  planter  of  con- 
siderable means,  who  had  always  been  interested  in  the 
school,  and  who  had,  in  fact,  helped  Mr.  Edwards  to 
found  it, — came  by  one  day  and  examined  my  little  press. 
Then  he  said,  "Despise  not  small  beginnings,"  and  gave 
me  a  ten-dollar  bill.  Putting  this  with  what  I  had  ob- 
tained from  the  teachers,  I  bought  eighteen  dollars'  worth 
of  type,  and  so  began  the  trade  of  printing  at  Snow  Hill. 

The  printing  shop  actually  made  money.  Nearly  all 
the  white  merchants  in  the  towns  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Snow  Hill  sent  in  their  work,  and  I  made  fair  profits. 
At  the  end  of  that  year  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Washington,  who  was  then  in  Europe,  telling  me  that  he 
had  recommended  me  to  an  English  syndicate  to  take 
charge  of  a  training  school  in  the  island  of  Montserrat, 
which,  I  believe,  is  one  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  in  the 
West  Indies.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  accept  this  position 
because  the  work  was  purely  missionary. 

In  a  few  weeks  I  was  on  my  way  to  Montserrat,  but 
when  I  reached  New  York  City  to  embark  I  received  a 
cable  from  Mr.  Sturgis,  of  Birmingham,  England,  telling 
me  that  he  had  been  informed  that  the  island  had  been 
destroyed  by  a  tornado,  and  that  perhaps  there  were  no 
inhabitants  left.  I  found  myself  in  New  York  for  the 
first  time,  practically  without  money,  for  it  was  here  that 
I  was  to  get  the  funds  with  which  to  finish  the  trip. 

Mr.  Washington,  who  happened  to  be  in  New  York  at 
the  time,  looked  me  up  and  lent  me  my  fare  back  to 
Tuskegee,  where  I  was  to  await  further  information.  I 
remained  there  over  a  month,  but  no  word  came  from 
England.     Upon  Mr.  Washington's  advice  that  it  was 


64  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

time  to  find  something  else  to  do,  I  determined  to  try  my 
fortune  in  Mississippi.  However,  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
could  make  no  headway.  All  the  public  schools  had  been 
taken  up,  so  that  I  could  not  get  a  school  to  teach,  and  I 
got  for  a  few  weeks  the  job  of  handling  cotton  at  a 
warehouse.  Then  I  tried  hotel  work,  but  I  found  that 
altogether  distasteful  to  me. 

As  there  seemed  nothing  else  to  do,  I  determined  to 
make  a  situation  for  myself.  Purchasing  a  set  of  sewing- 
machine  tools,  I  set  out  as  a  traveling  clock  repairer,  but 
I  had  never  repaired  a  clock  in  my  life,  so  that  the  first 
two  or  three  clocks  that  I  attempted  to  fix  were  left  not 
much  better  off  than  they  were  when  I  found  them.  After 
a  while,  however,  I  was  able  to  do  good  work,  and  I 
made  from  five  to  ten  dollars  a  week.  Still  the  work,  as 
well  as  the  results,  was  too  uncertain  for  me. 

At  length,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Edwards  again  and  told  him 
the  exact  situation,  and  that  I  would  like  to  come  back  to 
Snow  Hill. 

I  received  an  immediate  reply  from  him,  with  money 
for  railroad  fare,  telling  me  that  he  had  no  opening  for 
me  at  the  time  but  would  be  glad  to  have  me  come  back 
and  wait  until  he  could  find  something  for  me  to  do.  I 
was  at  Snow  Hill  but  a  short  time  before  he  placed  me 
in  the  responsible  position  of  financial  agent  for  the  In- 
stitution. 

At  the  end  of  that  year  I  went  again  to  Mississippi, 
but  failed  in  my  undertaking,  as  I  had  done  before.  Then 
the  trustees  of  Snow  Hill  elected  me  treasurer  of  the 
school,  and  raised  my  salary  to  twenty-five  dollars  a 
month.    By  this  time  I  began  to  think  that  perhaps  I  had 


Mrs.  William  H.  Holtzclaw 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  65 

better  settle  down.  My  convictions  on  this  point  were  so 
pleasantly  satisfied  that  after  a  year  I  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Ella  Patterson,  a  Tuskegee  graduate,  who 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Women's  Department  of  the  Snow 
Hill  school. 

We  decided  that  we  would  like  to  build  a  home,  so  Mr. 
Edwards  borrowed  the  money  for  us  with  which  to  build 
it.  We  were  to  pay  him  back  each  month  out  of  our 
twenty-five  dollars,  and  he  was  thus  to  pay  the  persons 
from  whom  he  borrowed  the  money, — some  Northern 
friends  whom  I  do  not  know.  It  looked  now  as  if  we 
had  settled  down  for  good,  yet  in  my  own  mind  I  was 
not  settled.  I  knew  that  some  day  I  would  go  to  Missis- 
sippi, though  I  confess  it  seemed  now  as  if  the  trip  had 
been  postponed  indefinitely. 

In  the  course  of  time  we  had  a  very  dear  addition  to 
our  family,  a  little  son,  whom  we  named  William  Syd- 
ney, for  my  brother  and  myself.  The  birth  of  this  little 
boy  brought  into  our  family  great  happiness, — happiness 
such  as  only  those  can  know  who  have  had  a  similar  ex- 
perience, but  after  six  months  he  was  taken  from  us  by 
an  attack  of  pneumonia.  I  had  no  more  interest  in  our 
home  after  that;  in  fact,  I  felt  better  away  from  it,  and  I 
think  my  wife  felt  the  same  way. 

I  had  been  for  two  years  trying  to  persuade  her  to 
think  as  I  did  about  the  Mississippi  venture,  but  she 
would  not  be  convinced.  After  the  death  of  our  child, 
however,  she  was  willing  that  I  should  make  the  venture 
again.  One  year  later  I  went  to  Mr.  Edwards  and  told 
him  that  I  had  decided  to  go  to  Mississippi  for  the  last 
time,  and  that  I  did  not  intend  ever  to  return  to  Snow 


66  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Hill  again.  I  had  returned  so  many  times  that  it  had 
become  a  joke,  and  everybody  looked  for  me  back  the 
next  week.  The  fact  is,  the  last  time  I  had  returned  it 
had  taken  almost  all  the  courage  out  of  me.  This  time  I 
burned  the  bridges  behind  me. 

Three  times  I  had  failed  to  carry  out  what  I  had  taken 
on  myself  as  a  duty ;  now  I  felt  like  a  coward. 

About  that  time  somebody  sent  me  a  copy  of  Orison 
Swett  Marden's  book,  "Pushing  to  the  Front."  I  read  it 
immediately.  Up  to  that  time  it  was  Mr.  Marden's  mas- 
terpiece. No  one  can  read  the  book  without  catching 
some  of  its  inspiration.  It  not  only  aroused  me,  but 
seemed  also  to  condemn  me ;  every  chapter  I  read  seemed 
to  say,  "You  are  a  coward  not  to  stick  to  what  you  know 
to  be  your  duty." 

At  length,  when  I  had  finished  the  book  I  threw  it 
down,  stood  up,  and  resolved  that  I  would  go  to  Missis- 
sippi, and  that  nothing  but  death  should  ever  again  come 
between  me  and  the  fulfilment  of  my  purpose. 


CHAPTER   V 

It  was  no  easy  matter  for  me  to  leave  Snow  Hill, 
where  I  had  made  so  many  friends,  chief  among  them 
being  Professor  Edwards,  principal  of  the  school,  and 
his  good  wife,  Susie.  Of  all  the  friends  I  have  made  in 
my  lifetime  no  one  has  been  a  better  one  than  Mr.  Ed- 
wards; not  only  did  he  prove  himself  a  friend  during 
the  four  years  I  passed  with  him,  but  he  had  been  a  friend 
to  me  even  before  then  and  he  has  been  ever  since.  We 
have  always  counselled  together,  and  even  at  this  day 
whenever  any  important  matters  affecting  either  of  us 
arise,  each  is  sure  to  call  on  the  other  for  suggestions 
and  advice. 

During  those  years  Mr.  Edwards,  being  older  and 
more  experienced  than  I  was,  was  a  guide  to  me.  I  took 
note  of  all  he  did  and  I  think  I  often  patterned  my  own 
work  after  his.  Therefore,  instead  of  my  settling  down 
and  making  Snow  Hill  my  home  because  of  my  four 
years'  pleasant  stay  there,  contact  with  Mr.  Edwards 
stimulated  my  desire  to  work  in  an  even  darker  field,  if 
that  were  possible,  than  Snow  Hill.  Day  after  day  I  saw 
him  struggling  to  build  up  an  institution  in  one  of  the 
most  neglected  sections  of  Alabama.  I  saw  him  often 
when  he  was  without  decent  clothes  or  sufficient  food ;  yet 
he  was  happy.    I  saw  him  year  by  year  going  forward, 


68  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

not  by  leaps  and  bounds,  but  at  a  snail's  pace,  yet  with  a 
determination  that  could  not  be  overcome. 

I  saw  the  condition  of  the  community  about  him,  and 
witnessed  the  splendid  fight  he  was  making  against  tre- 
mendous odds;  and  I  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the 
work  he  was  doing.  One  of  the  ways  in  which  I  sought 
to  help  him  to  enlighten  the  community  was  by  editing 
and  publishing  a  weekly  paper,  making  it  pay  for  itself. 
I  even  went  so  far  as  to  try  to  make  it  a  daily  paper  by 
reducing  its  size,  but  this  last  venture  only  lasted  two 
weeks.  So  far  as  I  know,  however,  it  was  the  only  daily 
paper  ever  published  by  a  Negro  in  Alabama. 

On  Sundays,  I  went  out  into  the  surrounding  country 
and  organized  the  people  into  what  I  called  "The  Black 
Belt  Improvement  Society."  This  society  grew  to  be  a 
permanent  factor  in  our  work.  Under  its  auspices  an 
annual  fair  was  held  at  the  school.  It  also  maintained  a 
savings  department  which,  during  my  last  year  there, 
when  all  savings  were  returned  to  the  members,  suc- 
ceeded in  declaring  an  annual  dividend  of  thirty-seven 
per  cent.  This  organization  was  afterward  renewed  in 
Mississippi,  and  later  I  shall  tell  something  of  its  results. 

All  this  contact  with  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
country  had  bound  me  closely  to  them,  so  that,  I  repeat, 
it  was  difficult  for  me  to  get  away. 

My  wife  had  been  ill  for  some  time,  so  when  I  was 
ready  to  leave  it  was  not  possible  to  take  her  along  with 
me,  therefore  it  was  agreed  that  she  should  remain  be- 
hind and  that  I  should  go  alone. 

What  little  money  I  had  I  left  with  her.  I  took  with' 
me  not  quite  enough  to  pay  my  railroad  fare,  for  I  ex- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  69 

pected  to  sell  my  wife's  bicycle  when  I  reached  Selma, 
the  next  town,  and  thus  secure  the  balance  of  my  fare  to 
Utica,  Mississippi,  for  which  I  was  bound.  But  I  could 
not  sell  the  bicycle,  so  there  I  was  with  the  machine  on 
my  hands  and  not  enough  money  to  pay  my  fare. 

However,  I  proceeded  on  my  way  in  the  direction  of 
Utica  with  what  money  I  had,  paying  fifty  cents  for  the 
bicycle  to  travel  in  the  express  car.  My  ticket  carried 
me  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  When  my  money 
gave  out  I  found  myself  in  a  strange  and  unfrequented 
section  of  Mississippi.  I  got  astride  my  bicycle  and  rode 
until  I  came  to  a  town  called  Cleveland.  There  I  put  up 
for  the  night  in  the  waiting-room  of  the  little  station. 
Late  in  the  night  when  the  station  agent  was  ready  to 
close  up  he  told  me  I  would  have  to  get  out.  I  knew 
nobody,  and  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  place  where  I 
could  pass  the  night,  so  I  went  out  into  the  neighboring 
woods  and  fell  asleep,  with  my  head  on  my  bicycle  for  a 
pillow. 

I  prayed  that  night  before  I  went  to  sleep  that  I  might 
be  guided  in  a  dream,  which  should  tell  me  whether  to 
proceed  or  what  to  do.  This  was  in  October,  and  during 
the  night  there  was  a  heavy  frost.  About  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  I  awoke  to  find  my  hair  and  clothes  covered 
with  frost,  and  I  had  not  dreamed  a  thing. 

Without  having  had  any  instruction  or  guidance  as  to 
what  I  should  do,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  best  thing  to 
do  first  would  be  to  shake  off  the  frost,  and  see  if  I  could 
not  get  a  little  warmth  into  my  bones.  Then  I  wandered 
about  the  town,  knocking  at  one  door  and  then  another, 
trying  to  find  some  one  who  would  be  kind  enough  to 


;o  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

take  me  in.  But  every  one  was  convinced  that  I  was  a 
tramp,  and  therefore  would  not  admit  me.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  I  suppose  I  was  a  tramp,  but  that  did  not  seem 
to  me  a  good  reason  at  that  time  for  shutting  the  door  on 
me.  Every  householder  I  succeeded  in  arousing  would 
send  me  to  the  next  one,  until,  after  a  while,  one  told  me 
that  I  would  find  an  old  fertilizer  house  down  the  rail- 
road where  I  might  stay.  I  found  the  house  and  occu- 
pied it  for  a  time.  At  dawn  I  jumped  astride  my  bicycle 
and  battled  my  way  southward  through  the  cane  brakes, 
swamps,  and  marshes  of  Boliver  County  toward  Utica. 

Boliver  County  is  the  fourth  county  southward  from 
Memphis  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,  right 
in  the  heart  of  the  Mississippi  Delta.  It  is  noted  as  a  cot- 
ton raising  county.  The  lands  are  very  largely  owned 
by  the  whites,  in  tracts  of  a  hundred  to  several  thousand 
acres,  but  there  are  several  well-to-do  Negroes  in  the 
county,  and  have  been  ever  since  soon  after  the  Negroes 
were  set  free.  It  was  of  this  county  in  the  early  days  of 
reconstruction  that  the  late  Senator,  B.  K.  Bruce,  was 
sheriff.  It  was  from  this  county  also  that  he  was  later 
sent  to  Washington  as  United  States  Senator  from  Mis- 
sissippi. Another  thing  of  interest  about  this  county  is 
the  fact  that  the  Negro  town  of  Mound  Bayou  is  located 
here.  This  town  is  situated  on  the  Y.  &  M.  V.  railroad, 
about  halfway  between  Memphis  and  Vicksburg,  and  is 
generally  spoken  of  as  the  largest  and  most  progressive 
purely  Negro  settlement  in  the  country. 

When  I  set  out  for  Mississippi  I  had  it  in  my  mind 
that  probably  I  should  attempt  to  start  a  school  at  Mound 
Bayou  or  somewhere  in  Boliver  County.    I  first  stopped 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  71 

two  miles  south  of  Mound  Bayou  at  a  little  deserted  vil- 
lage called  Renova.  Here  I  found  about  a  hundred 
empty  houses,  two  churches,  and  a  hotel.  There  were 
eight  or  ten  houses  occupied  by  Negroes.  The  empty 
houses  had  formerly  been  occupied  by  saw-mill  laborers, 
but  the  mill  had  been  moved  and  the  laborers  had  moved 
with  it.  These  houses  were  all  for  sale,  together  with 
several  hundred  acres  of  land  in  their  neighborhood. 

The  land  agent  who  had  charge  of  these  sales,  and  who 
evidently  expected  to  build  another  Mound  Bayou  there, 
was  a  graduate,  as  he  told  me,  of  Fisk  University.  I 
tried  to  make  a  deal  with  him  and  start  a  school  there,  but 
for  some  reason  the  more  I  talked  about  purchasing  the 
land,  the  more  he  distrusted  me,  until  at  length  he  grew 
so  suspicious  that  we  could  not  transact  any  business  at 
all.  I  could  not  convince  him  that  a  man  that  was  not  a 
college  graduate  could  build  a  school.  Seeing  my  ina- 
bility to  work  with  him,  I  went  to  Memphis  to  talk  the 
matter  over  with  the  gentleman  who  owned  the  land  and 
the  houses,  but  before  I  reached  Memphis  the  land  agent 
at  Renova  had  communicated  in  some  way  with  the  Mem- 
phis gentleman,  and  had  undoubtedly  made  him  believe 
that  I  was  a  tramp,  and  so  I  could  not  get  a  conference 
with  him,  after  having  reached  there.  I  then  went  down 
to  Mound  Bayou,  where  I  was  received  most  cordially 
by  Mr.  I.  T.  Montgomery,  founder  and  chief  factor  of 
the  town.  He  seemed  to  be  very  much  interested  in  my 
plans,  and  after  he  had  shown  me  about  the  town  we  had 
a  conference  about  the  feasibility  of  my  project. 

He  asked  me  some  searching  questions,  among  them 
how  and  where  I  expected  to  get  the  money  to  establish 


J2.  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

my  enterprise.  This  was  a  question  I  could  not  answer, 
and  for  this  reason  Mr.  Montgomery  did  not  see  any 
wisdom  in  encouraging  me  to  make  an  effort  at  Mound 
Bayou.  However,  he  was  careful  not  to  discourage  me. 
I  remember  that  he  bade  me  go  on,  and  keep  in  touch 
with  him,  and  in  the  meantime  he  handed  me  some  leaf- 
lets containing  a  description  of  how  he  had  founded 
Mound  Bayou.  I  read  this  description  with  a  great  deal 
of  interest,  and  it  gave  me  courage  and  hope,  which  I 
needed  very  much  at  that  time.  I  remember  that  one  of 
the  leaflets  contained  something  like  the  following  state- 
ment as  to  how  Mr.  Montgomery  had  founded  Mound 
Bayou : 

"On  a  summer  morning  in  July,  1887,  the  fast  express 
dropped  me  at  a  cross-road  sawmill.  I  was  accompanied 
by  a  civil  engineer,  with  whom  I  had  spent  the  day  pre- 
vious in  the  trackless  forest  northwest  of  the  town  of 
Shaw.  It  was  not  yet  day  when  we  disembarked  from 
the  train.  We  went  a  short  distance  to  the  quarter  mill 
and  were  generously  treated  to  a  hearty  breakfast. 

"Immediately  afterward  we  started  to  tramp  north- 
ward on  the  line  of  railway.  After  a  walk  of  nearly 
three  miles  my  companion  paused  and  said,  'Here  is  the 
land.' 

"I  gazed  north  and  south  along  the  railway  right  of 
way,  which  cut  a  wide  path,  something  like  the  street  of 
a  great  city,  through  the  forest  and  jungle.  On  either 
side  were  impassable  barriers  of  cane,  which  stood 
twenty-five  feet  high,  interwoven  with  briars  and  thickly 
studded  with  mighty  trees,  some  of  which  were  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  in  height. 


Charles  Banks 

(See  page  226) 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  73 

"I  tramped  up  and  down,  looking  for  a  place  of  en- 
trance. Finally  I  found  a  hunter's  trail  which  had  been 
kept  open  by  wild  beasts  and  wandering  cattle.  This  led 
along  the  bank  of  the  bayou  from  which  the  locality  de- 
rived its  name.  A  mile  farther  along  this  path  came  out 
to  the  railway  again.  We,  however,  turned  farther  north 
and  found  the  woods  somewhat  more  open.  As  the  fall- 
ing shadows  reminded  us  that  the  day  was  nearly  done  we 
stood  upon  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  town." 


Now,  that  section  of  Mississippi  through  which  I  was 
travelling  was  wild  and  little  frequented.  I  was  told  by 
the  people  along  the  route  that  I  was  likely  to  meet  bears 
and  panthers,  wild  cats  and  catamounts.  As  I  had  no 
means  of  defense,  all  I  could  do  was  to  ride  in  a  hurry, 
and  that  I  did,  though  not  so  fast  as  to  escape  being  at- 
tacked by  a  wild  cat  about  dusk  one  evening. 

Before  I  left  that  section  my  wheel  broke  down.  Then 
I  had  to  put  it  on  my  shoulders,  roll  up  my  trousers,  and 
proceed  to  my  destination  afoot.  I  remember  walking 
once  all  day  without  water,  not  having  found  a  single 
place  where  I  could  get  any  that  was  fit  to  drink.  At 
length  when  it  was  nearly  night  I  came  to  an  old  church 
where  there  was  a  cistern  about  thirty  feet  deep,  with 
sparkling  water  at  the  bottom.  I  went  to  this  well  and 
looked  in.  There  was  no  bucket  with  which  to  get  the 
water,  but  there  was  a  rope,  so  I  tied  my  hat  to  the  rope, 
put  a  stone  into  it,  and  let  it  down.  When  the  hat  was 
full  of  water  it  pulled  loose  from  the  rope  and  remained 
in  the  well. 

I  was  so  famished  for  water  that  I  attempted  to  go 


74  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

down  into  the  well,  to  get  both  the  water  and  the  hat.  I 
put  a  pole  down,  then  went  down  on  it,  and  after  having 
obtained  my  hat  and  a  drink,  I  started  up  the  pole  again, 
but  found  it  was  so  sleek  that  I  could  not  climb  it.  There 
I  was  in  the  bottom  of  a  well,  many  miles  from  any 
house,  with  dark  approaching.  I  was  desperate  and  made 
many  frantic  efforts  to  get  out,  but  could  not  until  an- 
other traveller  came  along,  who,  like  myself,  was  looking 
for  water.  He  was  a  white  farmer,  living  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. He  yelled  down  to  know  what  I  was  doing 
there,  and  when  I  told  him  he  let  down  a  rope,  and  said : 
"Catch  hold  there  and  I  will  pull  you  out,  though  most 
'niggers'  ain't  worth  it."  After  he  had  got  me  out,  how- 
ever, and  I  had  thanked  him  profusely,  he  carried  me  on 
to  his  house,  took  me  into  the  kitchen,  and  gave  me  a  sub- 
stantial meal  of  molasses  and  bread.  I  don't  know  when 
I  have  so  appreciated  a  meal. 

In  my  travels  I  had  an  opportunity  to  see  and  examine 
at  first  hand  that  section  of  the  country  known  as  the 
Delta,  through  which  I  passed.  I  talked  with  its  people, 
both  white  and  black,  and  tried  to  get  their  point  of  view 
in  regard  to  the  Negro.  Starting  at  Memphis,  I  passed 
through  all  that  interesting  territory  along  the  Y.  &  M. 
V.  railroad,  by  way  of  Tunica,  Merigold,  Mound  Bayou, 
Renova,  Shaw,  and  Leland.  I  then  travelled  over  what 
was  then  known  as  the  "Loop,"  a  branch  of  the  Y.  &  M. 
V.  railroad  lying  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  Here  I  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  coun- 
ties of  Issaquena,  Sharkey,  Washington,  Tunica,  Cohoma, 
and  some  others.  They  were  all  largely  populated  with 
Negroes,  some  of  them,  notably  Issaquena,  having  about 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  75 

twenty-five  Negroes  to  one  white.  I  then  left  the  rail- 
road and  travelled  in  a  southerly  direction  through  a  for- 
est of  canebrakes,  such  as  I  had  never  seen  before,  until 
I  reached  the  village  of  Dockery,  on  the  Sunflower  river, 
about  thirty-five  miles  east  of  Rosedale.  After  having 
passed  a  while  there  in  making  observations  I  went  to 
Ruleville  in  Sunflower  county,  still  farther  east,  where  I 
reached  the  railroad  again.  I  then  tramped  along  the 
railroad  from  there  to  Indianola,  thence  to  Greenwood,  a 
junction  on  another  branch  of  the  Y.  &  M.  V.  and  the 
Southern  Railway  in  Mississippi.  All  along  this  journey 
I  interviewed  many  classes  of  people,  and  learned  many 
interesting  facts.  For  instance,  I  called  to  see  a  wealthy 
white  planter  at  Minter  City,  and  when  I  drove  into  his 
great  plantation, — with  its  mansion  on  the  river  bank 
and  several  hundred  Negro  cabins,  all  whitewashed,  in 
the  background, — it  gave  me  a  feeling  that  I  was  going 
into  a  city.  When  I  tramped  up  to  his  gate  I  was  told 
that  I  would  find  him  at  the  store  about  a  hundred  yards 
away.  I  walked  down  to  the  store  and  the  planter  met 
me  at  the  door,  shook  my  hand,  and  I  sat  down  by  the 
fire  in  the  rear  of  the  store.  I  began  the  interview  at 
once.  First  I  told  him  my  plans  candidly,  and  asked  his 
advice.  He  listened  carefully  to  all  that  I  had  to  say, 
then  he  said,  talking  deliberately : 

"I  believe  you  are  about  to  engage  in  a  good  work, 
and  I  would  like  to  see  the  Negro  educated,  but,  candidly, 
I  do  not  think  that  the  kind  of  school  you  would  like  to 
start  would  do  any  good  in  the  Delta.  I  really  think  it 
would  do  harm.  What  I  want  here  is  Negroes  who  can 
make  cotton,  and  they  don't  need  education  to  help  them 


76  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

make  cotton.  I  could  not  use  educated  Negroes  on  my 
place,  but  since  you  have  asked  me  for  advice,  I  will  tell 
you  candidly  that  here  in  the  Delta  is  no  place  to  start  a 
school.  Such  a  school  as  you  speak  of  is  needed,  but  not 
here.  I  have  read  about  the  great  work  of  Booker  Wash- 
ington, and  I  believe  you  are  headed  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, but  you  cannot  succeed  here.  I  advise  you  to  go 
out  of  the  Delta  into  the  hill  country  farther  east  and 
establish  your  school, — in  a  place  where  Negroes  own 
their  own  lands,  or,  at  least,  where  they  are  renters  and 
are  more  independent.  In  case  you  do  that,  I  will  become 
a  contributor  to  your  school,  and  I  will  take  bright 
Negroes  from  my  plantation  and  send  them  to  your 
school  to  be  educated."  Here  I  ventured  to  put  in  a 
word,  and  began  by  saying,  "But  they  will  be  educated." 
But  before  I  had  finished  the  sentence  he  interrupted,  "I 
hope  you  will  keep  them  there  or  send  them  somewhere 
else  when  they  are  educated." 

Then  he  offered  me  a  ten-dollar  bill  for  the  trouble  I 
had  taken  in  coming  to  see  him. 

One  thing  that  interested  me  about  all  these  talks  was 
that  the  majority  of  the  planters  I  interviewed  in  the 
Delta  seemed  to  be  afraid  of  the  results  of  Negro  edu- 
cation. I  found  a  few  who  seemed  to  be  a  little  afraid  of 
the  Negro  in  general,  and  a  great  many  who  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  Negro  education.  These  were  high-grade 
men  whom  I  interviewed, — men  of  culture  and  wealth. 
But  I  also  talked  to  some  of  the  common  people;  for 
instance,  at  Greenwood  I  had  a  conversation  with  a  rail- 
road section  foreman.  It  was  late  on  a  Saturday  even- 
ing and  I  wanted  to  go  to  a  little  town  called  Parsons, 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  77 

the  terminus  of  the  Y.  &  M.  V.  railroad,  and  twelve 
miles  north  of  Greenwood.  The  last  train  of  the  day  had 
gone,  and  no  other  train  was  going  in  that  direction  be- 
fore Monday  morning.  I  had  an  engagement  to  address 
an  audience  there  on  Sunday  at  twelve  o'clock.  I  went 
to  the  railroad  section  foreman's  shanty,  where  he  was 
changing  his  clothes  and  taking  a  shave,  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  not  let  me  have  his  hand-car  to  go  the  twelve 
miles.  He  seemed  to  realize  my  predicament  and  de- 
cided to  accommodate  me,  provided  I  could  get  his 
laborers  to  pull  the  car  that  distance.  I  was  elated  over 
the  prospects  of  making  the  trip  on  the  hand-car.  Just 
then  he  began  questioning  me  about  my  business,  and 
when  I  told  him  frankly  what  I  was  doing  in  Mississippi 
he  became  very  suspicious,  and  I  noticed  that  his  face 
became  flushed,  while  he  was  still  shaving.  He  turned 
toward  me,  with  the  razor  in  his  hand  and  his  face  still 
flushed,  and,  with  a  few  oaths,  he  began  to  accuse  me 
of  being  a  railroad  detective,  all  of  which  I  denied  in  a 
hurry.  Then  he  stopped  and  said,  "If  I  thought  you 
were,  I  would  proceed  to  use  this  on  your  neck  instead 
of  mine."  I  found  it  necessary  to  close  the  interview 
immediately,  and  I  did  not  wait  until  the  hand-car  was 
ready  to  go. 

I  then  called,  outside  of  the  town,  at  the  home  of  a 
very  wealthy  planter  and  politician,  whose  father  had 
been  a  senator  of  the  United  States  and  perhaps  one  of 
the  strongest  men  Mississippi  has  ever  produced.  I  had 
previously  arranged  for  the  interview,  which  proved  to 
be  the  most  interesting  one  that  I  had  on  this  trip.  So 
far  as  I  could  see,  he  was  a  bachelor  who  lived  out  on 


78  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

his  plantation  in  a  splendid  modern  house.  Here  he  was 
surrounded  by  a  host  of  Negroes;  several  of  the  women 
ministered  to  his  wants  about  the  house.  His  very  man- 
ner showed  that  he  was  lord  of  the  situation.  It  was  a 
hot  day  and  I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  he  met  me  at 
the  door  clad  in  only  two  thin  garments  and  he  carried 
a  large  palmetto  fan  in  his  hand.  He  paid  very  little  at- 
tention to  me,  but  one  could  not  fail  to  observe  that  he 
was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  although  he  was  not 
an  old  man.  He  was  a  great  talker,  and  he  gave  me  very 
little  opportunity  to  reply  to  him.  He  began  by  saying 
that  he  had  very  little  faith  in  the  Negro's  becoming  any- 
thing but  a  laborer.  He  referred  to  the  Negroes  on  his 
plantation  and  told  how  much  he  valued  them  as  la- 
borers; then  he  began  to  speak  of  the  Negro's  morality, 
or  rather,  his  lack  of  morality;  for  he  said  that  they  had 
none.  On  this  subject  he  had  a  great  deal  to  say,  and  he 
wound  up  by  saying  that  there  were  no  Negro  women 
who  were  chaste,  and  that  the  morality  of  Negro 
men  need  not  be  discussed.  Here  I  ventured  to  suggest 
to  him  that  perhaps  his  knowledge  of  Negro  women  was 
limited  to  the  women  of  his  own  plantation  or  to  those 
of  his  neighbors'  plantations,  or,  perhaps,  to  the  women 
that  one  would  usually  see  on  the  streets  of  a  city.  He 
was  quick  to  see  the  point,  and  after  a  moment's  thought 
he  seemed  to  realize  that  he  had  been  rather  broad  in  his 
statement,  and,  as  if  to  make  amends,  he  said:  "I  did 
not  mean  to  say  that  there  may  not  be  some  good  Negro 
women, — somewhere.  For  instance,  I  think  a  woman 
like  Booker  Washington's  wife  is  all  right."  He  said  that 
Negroes  in  general  were  dishonest  and  untrustworthy; 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  79 

but  he  added  that  he  was  acquainted  with  one  who  could 
be  trusted  anywhere  at  any  time.  While  he  didn't  be- 
lieve in  Negro  education,  he  seemed  to  be  willing  to  give 
it  a  trial,  and  he  thought  that  this  ought  to  be  the  attitude 
of  all  white  men,  but  he  said  candidly  that  the  Delta  was 
not  the  place  for  a  school  for  Negroes.  All  in  all,  that 
was  a  pleasant  interview  that  I  had, — with  a  man  of 
great  intelligence,  strong  convictions,  and  undoubted  sin- 
cerity. I  say  this,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  found  it  im- 
possible to  agree  with  him  during  the  interview. 

I  have  often  been  asked  why  I  did  not  start  my  school 
in  the  Delta  of  Mississippi.  What  I  have  said  here  will 
in  some  degree  serve  as  an  answer.  You  cannot  build  a 
school  that  will  be  useful  unless  the  people  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  your  efforts.  Another  reason  was  that  I  in- 
tended from  the  first  that  my  school  should  be  a  board- 
ing-school, and  for  that  reason  I  thought  that  it  ought 
to  be  on  high  land,  out  from  the  Delta,  so  that  it  would 
not  suffer  from  overflows  caused  by  the  breaking  of 
levees.  And,  too,  there  was  a  minor  consideration  that 
had  a  great  deal  of  influence  with  me.  I  had  been  born 
and  reared  in  a  hill  country,  and  did  not  know  that  such 
level  tracts  of  land  existed  until  I  saw  the  Delta  lands. 
To  a  man  born  and  reared  in  a  mountainous  country 
there  is  something  about  the  dead  level  of  the  Delta 
country  that  is  very  depressing.  It  certainly  depressed 
me.  It  even  worried  me  to  ride  my  bicycle  on  the  dead 
level  miles  after  miles.  I  wanted  some  hills  to  climb, 
and  then  I  thought, — perhaps  foolishly, — that  I  would 
teach  my  children  to  sing,  "My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee.', 
I  did  not  see  how  I  could  put  any  sense  into  that  stanza 


80  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

that  says,  "I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills,  thy  woods  and 
templed  hills."  I  knew  that  some  of  these  children  had 
never  seen  a  rock  or  a  rill.  They  had  seen  the  woods, 
it  is  true,  but  not  the  templed  hills. 

Speaking  further  of  interviews,  when  I  left  Green- 
wood I  made  my  way  in  a  southerly  direction  until  I 
came  within  ten  miles  of  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Here  I  had  my 
first  interview  with  one  of  the  lords  of  the  hills.  He  was 
a  fine  type  of  the  old-fashioned  white  man,  lived  in  the 
same  old  brick  mansion  that  his  father  had  occupied  on 
a  plantation  where  slaves  went  to  and  fro  forty  years 
before;  and,  to  make  it  more  interesting,  several  of  these 
former  slaves  still  lived  on  the  plantation,  which  was 
literally  dotted  with  their  descendants.  The  plantation 
was  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the  work  being  done 
by  Negroes  as  tenant  farmers.  The  land  owner's  name 
was  Cameron, — a  man  who  had  been  asked  to  allow  his 
name  to  go  before  the  voters  as  a  candidate  for  governor 
of  Mississippi,  but  this,  I  think,  he  refused  to  do  because 
of  failing  health.  What  interested  me  especially  about 
this  man  and  his  surroundings  was  the  tremendous  in- 
fluence that  he  wielded  over  the  Negroes  living  on  his 
plantation.  Once  while  we  were  looking  at  the  retreat- 
ing mass  of  men  and  mules  as  they  were  leaving  the  man- 
sion on  their  way  to  the  fields  for  the  day's  work,  he 
began  talking  of  them  in  a  reminiscent  fashion.    He  said : 

"Thirty  or  forty  years  ago  when  Negroes  were  voters 
here  in  Mississippi  it  was  my  custom  on  election  day  to 
march  them  up  to  the  polls  just  as  you  see  them  march- 
ing to  the  fields ;  and  they  voted  as  I  told  them  to  vote. 
It  used  to  be  a  saying  that  whoever  the  Cameron  Negroes 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  81 

voted  for  in  this  section  was  sure  of  election.  They  will 
do  anything  I  say  do.  If  I  were  to  tell  them  to  lynch 
you  at  this  minute,  in  less  than  a  half  hour  you  would  be 
hung  up  to  a  tree." 

Here  I  ventured  to  suggest  that  where  people  possess 
such  a  spirit  it  might  not  be  a  good  place  to  start  a  school. 
He  did  not  seem  to  catch  the  point,  but  continued  his 
reminiscences,  saying :  "Some  years  ago  there  was  a  little 
strip  of  a  Negro  tramp  around  here,  who  in  a  fit  of  anger 
killed  one  of  my  best  Negroes.  I  was  completely  exas- 
perated, and  told  the  Negroes  to  take  the  boy  down  back 
of  the  field  and  lynch  him."  Here  he  hesitated  to  go 
further,  but  I  was  eager  to  hear  the  story  completed  and 
I  asked,  "Did  they  lynch  him?"  He  simply  remarked, 
"Well,  I  have  not  seen  him  since,"  and  so  I  could  not 
get  him  to  discuss  the  matter  any  further. 

I  had  a  most  satisfactory  conversation  with  this  man, — 
the  most  satisfactory  that  I  had  at  all.  He  not  only  be- 
lieved in  Negro  education,  but  also  in  education  for  all 
men.  He  had  a  quaint  way  of  putting  this  belief  by  say- 
ing that  education  and  nothing  else  could  make  the  Negro 
any  worse  than  he  was;  but  beneath  all  he  showed  that 
he  thought  all  people  should  be  educated.  He  invited 
me  to  build  a  school  on  his  plantation,  offered  me  a  splen- 
did tract  of  eight  acres  for  a  site  as  a  gift,  and  said,  "If 
you  wish  to  fight,  I  will  help  you  in  the  battle."  He  then 
took  me  in  his  buggy  and  carried  me  to  his  quarters  and 
introduced  me  to  all  the  Negroes.  One  of  them,  H.  T. 
Pinquite,  whose  ancestors  had  been  slaves  on  the  Cam- 
eron plantation,  proved  to  be  an  interesting  figure.  He 
was  renting  a  large  section  of  the  plantation  and  sub- 


82  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

renting  it  to  other  Negroes.  I  think  he  was  operating 
about  forty  plows.  It  was  with  this  man  and  his  wife 
that  I  passed  about  a  week.  Since  that  time  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  teaching  three  of  their  children.  Mr. 
Cameron  seemed  to  be  in  earnest  about  the  building  of 
the  school  near  his  plantation,  and  I  was  seriously  con- 
sidering the  matter  myself ;  therefore  I  cannot  say  what 
might  have  taken  place  had  Mr.  Cameron  not  died  soon 
after  I  left. 

Before  I  reached  Utica  my  bicycle  became  an  increas- 
ing burden.  I  met  a  young  Negro  boy  who  wanted  to 
trade  for  it,  and  he  offered  me  his  Ingersoll  watch  and 
two  dollars  in  cash,  which  I  promptly  accepted.  Thus  I 
entered  Utica  with  a  dollar  watch  and  two  dollars  in 
money,  a  condition  in  which  I  should  not  have  found 
myself  but  for  this  bargain.  I  was  met  by  the  head 
deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church,  A.  C.  Carter,  who  took 
me  three  miles  out  into  the  country  to  his  house  and  very 
carefully  explained  that  he  could  keep  me  only  one  week. 
Deacon  Carter  was  an  influential  man  in  the  community. 
Not  only  was  he  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church,  which 
had  about  four  hundred  members,  but  he  was  respected 
by  everybody,  white  and  black  alike.  What  he  said  in 
the  community  carried  a  great  deal  of  weight.  I  was 
told,  and  I  afterward  believed,  that  it  was  he,  together 
with  Oliver  Broom  and  Tom  Williams,  who  usually 
made  and  unmade  both  the  preachers  and  the  teachers 
in  their  community.  Indeed,  these  three  men  had  been 
singled  out  by  the  county  authorities,  headed  by  the 
County  School  Superintendent,  and  had  been  designated 
Trustees  of  the  Negro  Public  School ;  therefore,  the  pub- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  83 

lie  school  had  been  entrusted  to  them.  They  made  ar- 
rangements for  me  to  board  at  the  home  of  a  young 
school-mistress,  who  agreed  to  board  me  for  two  dollars 
a  week,  but  stipulated  that  I  was  to  pay  every  Saturday. 
Fortunately,  I  had  two  dollars  for  the  first  week,  so  I 
began  boarding. 

I  went  down  town  the  next  day  to  make  the  acquain- 
tance of  the  white  people  and  to  see  how  they  felt  about 
the  matter  of  a  new  teacher  in  their  community.  In 
order  to  get  a  financial  standing  in  the  community,  I  first 
visited  the  bank  to  deposit  my  two  dollars.  The  banker 
looked  at  me  rather  curiously  when  I  asked  him  a  few 
questions  about  deposits  and  withdrawals.  He  naturally 
hesitated  about  taking  my  small  deposit,  especially  when 
I  told  him  I  would  have  to  draw  it  at  the  end  of  the  week. 
However,  after  questioning  me  considerably,  he  accepted 
the  deposit  and  gave  me  a  check  book. 

At  the  end  of  that  week  I  gave  my  landlady  a  check 
for  two  dollars,  whereupon  she  protested  that  it  was  not 
necessary  to  pay  until  the  end  of  the  month.  I  insisted 
on  her  taking  at  least  $1.75  of  it,  but  she  would  only  do 
so  on  condition  that  thereafter  I  should  pay  her  at  the 
end  of  the  month.  I  realize  that  I  did  not  treat  my  land- 
lady fairly,  but  at  the  time  I  only  considered  the  fact 
that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  establish  my  credit.  I 
was  safe  for  four  more  weeks,  although  that  was  my  last 
penny,  and  from  that  time  until  the  present  I  have  never 
had  any  trouble  in  getting  all  the  credit  I  wanted  in 
Utica. 

My  first  effort  to  ascertain  the  sentiment  of  the  white 
people  was  made  on  the  same  day  that  I  opened  the  bank 


84  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

account.  I  called  on  Col.  J.  B.  Chapman,  a  leading  white 
citizen  and  the  only  attorney  of  the  place.  I  told  him 
all  about  my  plans  and  asked  his  opinion.  I  have  not  for- 
gotten his  reply;  it  was  about  the  same  opinion  you  will 
hear  in  the  average  Southern  community.  What  he  said 
was  about  as  follows: 

"Well,  if  you  can  do  anything  to  improve  the  'niggers/ 
every  decent  white  man  in  this  town  will  be  glad  to  see 
you  do  it.  I  know  some  'niggers'  can  improve,  like  old 
Tom  Williams  and  Alf .  Carter,  but  you  will  never  do  any- 
thing with  some  of  these  young  'niggers,'  and  it  is  a  waste 
of  time  to  try.  If  you  start  out  here  and  do  as  a  'nigger' 
did  last  year, — he  came  here  and  collected  money  from 
the  people,  saying  he  was  going  to  start  a  school,  and 
then  absconded  with  the  money, — there  is  no  telling  what 
will  happen  to  you.  But  if  you  are  making  an  honest 
effort  to  make  the  'nigger'  better,  you  will  find  the  best 
white  people  of  this  town  and  of  this  state  supporting 
you." 

He  assured  me  that  he  favored  my  plans  as  I  outlined 
them.  I  tried  to  get  him  to  become  a  member  of  the 
trustee  board,  but  he  declined  on  the  ground  of  not  know- 
ing anything  about  that  kind  of  work.  However,  he  said 
he  would  help  me  in  every  way  he  could,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  time  of  his  death  Colonel  Chapman  was  true 
to  his  word  and  to  the  work  that  I  was  doing.  He  be- 
came so  interested  in  the  school  that  if  he  saw  one  of  the 
boys  in  town  in  the  least  disorderly  he  would  promptly 
report  it  to  me.    He  did  this  on  several  occasions. 

Another  man,  whom  I  met  in  those  early  years,  was  a 
young  planter,  whose  father  and  grandfather  had  been 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  85 

large  slave-owners.  He  was  the  Hon.  Alexander  Yates, 
at  that  time  postmaster  of  the  town.  I  explained  my 
plans  to  him,  and  he  evinced  more  than  usual  interest 
from  the  very  first,  telling  me,  just  as  Mr.  Chapman  had 
done,  about  the  man  who  had  preceded  me.  He  warned 
me  against  a  possible  recurrence  of  that  sort  of  thing, 
and  ended  by  saying  that  if  I  meant  business  I  could 
depend  on  him  for  help.  This  was  certainly  encouraging 
to  a  man  who  had  just  drawn  a  check  for  the  last  cent 
he  had  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Yates  became  more  and  more  interested  in  the 
school  as  the  years  went  by,  and  many  are  the  acts  of 
kindness  which  he  has  shown  us  during  these  years  of  its 
existence.  I  have  asked  him  for  many  favors,  and  never 
yet  have  I  been  refused.  During  this  time  I  have  bor- 
rowed from  him, — in  emergency  cases, — many  hundred 
dollars,  and  often  without  one  cent*  of  interest,  nor  has 
he  ever  required  anything  more  than  my  personal  note, 
which  was  usually  no  more  than  a  promise  to  pay  when 
I  was  able. 

Among  other  persons  that  I  consulted  were  the  Curry 
Brothers,  Z.  Wardlaw  and  Company,  Mimms  and  New- 
man, and  Kelley- Simmons  and  Company,  and  from  them 
all  I  received  a  great  deal  of  encouragement,  as  I  shall 
show  later.  In  the  meanwhile  Deacon  Carter  had  been 
busy  among  the  white  officials,  and  he  had  succeeded  in 
getting  me  an  audience  with  the  town  councilors.  At 
this  meeting  I  put  my  plans  before  the  officials,  who 
evinced  considerable  interest  in  them  and  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  plan  was  a  good  one,  if  it  could  be  car- 
ried out.    They  were  themselves  at  that  time  just  estab- 


86  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

lishing  a  separate  school  district  for  the  white  youth  of 
Utica,  and  something  had  to  be  done  for  the  few  colored 
children  who  lived  within  the  corporate  limits;  so  they 
quickly  agreed  to  make  my  project  a  part  of  the  separate 
school  district  and  to  pay  me  twenty  dollars  a  month  for 
teaching  the  Negro  pupils  of  the  town. 

This  much  settled,  I  went  to  the  county  seat,  where 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  securing  an  audience  with  the 
Superintendent  of  Education.  Upon  my  second  visit, 
however,  he  received  me  cordially,  and  listened  atten- 
tively to  my  plan  as  I  unfolded  it  to  him.  He  was  per- 
fectly willing  that  I  should  teach  the  public  school  of 
Utica,  but  as  he  could  only  pay  two  teachers  a  given 
amount,  and  as  I  was  compelled  to  have  four,  that  left 
nothing  for  my  own  services.  However,  I  accepted  the 
proposition,  took  the  examination,  received  the  necessary 
license,  and  opened  the  public  school  the  first  Monday  in 
November,  1902.  While  teaching  this  public  school  I 
continued  to  agitate  the  question  of  an  independent 
school,  and  I  went  from  door  to  door  and  from  church 
to  church  among  both  white  and  colored  people,  getting 
contributions  and  pledges  of  whatever  amounts  they 
could  give. 


CHAPTER   VI 

By  September,  1903,  everybody  seemed  to  conclude 
that  the  school  project  would  be  a  failure,  and  enthusi- 
asm was  fast  dying  out.  This  was  due  in  a  large  meas- 
ure to  the  fact  that  we  found  it  impossible  to  buy  a  tract 
of  land  anywhere  near  Utica  upon  which  to  start  a 
school.  First  of  all,  the  majority  of  land  owners  doubt- 
ed the  wisdom  of  selling  any  part  of  their  land  for  a 
Negro  school ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  we  had  no  money 
with  which  to  buy  land;  which  was  not  very  important, 
however,  as  it  does  not  always  require  ready  money  to 
buy  land  in  the  South. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  organized  the  colored  people 
into  an  educational  association,  of  which  I  was  president. 
We  had  our  meetings  every  Monday  night,  and  as  many 
call  meetings  during  the  week  as  we  found  necessary. 
But,  as  I  have  said,  enthusiasm  was  dying  out.  The  peo- 
ple were  beginning  to  feel  that  I  was  a  humbug;  that  I 
had  collected  all  the  money  I  could  and  would  soon  be 
gone.  So  they  decided  to  elect  a  treasurer  into  whose 
hands  I  was  to  place  all  the  money  I  collected. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  collected  only  seventy-five  cents. 
I  welcomed  this  move  to  elect  a  treasurer,  and  promptly 
turned  the  seventy-five  cents  over  to  him.  If  I  remem- 
ber correctly,  the  Rev.  Essex  Gary  was  elected  treasurer. 
No  sooner  had  I  turned  over  the  money  to  Mr.  Gary  than 


88  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

some  one  objected  to  his  leaving  the  house  with  it,  say- 
ing that  it  would  never  be  seen  again.  Mr.  Gary  became 
indignant  and  resigned  on  the  spot,  and  it  looked  as  if 
I  was  going  to  get  the  seventy-five  cents  back.  It  would 
have  been  given  to  me,  perhaps,  but  for  the  fact  that 
some  fellow  started  a  general  disturbance, — probably 
Dan  Griffin,  though  I  do  not  remember  now. 

Mr.  Gary  was  the  local  minister  of  the  Colored  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  the  membership  of  which  con- 
sisted of  two  dozen  men  and  women,  who  had  been  per- 
suaded that  there  was  some  way  of  getting  to  Heaven 
outside  of  the  Baptist  Church.  Mr.  Gary  seemed  to  take 
himself  very  seriously  and  he  was  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him,  so  far  as  I  could  see.  But  it  seems  as  if  he 
had  been  treasurer  of  a  secret  society,  and  that  while  he 
was  treasurer  the  society  "went  dead,"  so  to  speak,  and 
when  the  money  was  counted  the  men  and  women  were 
not  satisfied  with  Mr.  Gary's  accounting.  His  friends 
maintained  that  he  had  been  strictly  honest,  but  a  few 
persons  whom  he  considered  his  enemies  always  con- 
tended that  he  had  not  given  a  proper  accounting  of  the 
funds. 

Dan  Griffin  was  a  young  recruit  to  the  Baptist  Church, 
and  his  feelings  toward  the  Methodist  people  were  none 
too  good.  He  was  intent  on  running  the  Church,  the 
school,  and  all  the  societies  on  a  high  plane.  Some  years 
before  he  joined  the  Church  he  had  been  a  man  of  the 
world,  pure  and  simple,  and  had  been  considered  some- 
what rough  in  his  character.  Now  that  he  was  a  Chris- 
tian he  was  as  willing  to  fight  for  the  Church  and  for 
righteousness  as  he  had  been  willing  to  work  for  the  evil 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  89 

forces.  This,  I  suppose,  accounts  for  his  raising  a  rough- 
house  when  he  felt  that  the  wrong  man  had  been  elected 
treasurer. 

However,  we  had  to  have  a  treasurer,  so  another  ballot 
was  taken,  and  it  was  decided  that  no  man  in  the  house 
could  be  trusted  with  the  money.  By  way  of  compromise 
some  one  then  suggested  that  Mr.  W.  J.  Ferguson,  a 
white  man  and  the  president  of  the  Bank  of  Utica,  should 
be  elected  treasurer,  which  was  done.  When  Mr.  Fer- 
guson was  notified  the  next  day  he  considered  it  the 
biggest  joke  of  the  season.  He  accepted,  however,  and 
began  acting  as  the  treasurer  of  the  new  organization. 

Now  that  we  had  a  treasurer  we  were  ready  to  go 
forward,  though  not  very  far  with  only  seventy-five 
cents.  The  majority  of  the  people  were  beginning  to 
abandon  the  project  and  things  were  looking  decidedly 
gloomy.  Something  extraordinary  had  to  be  done.  In 
order  to  revive  their  spirits,  and  to  show  them  that  I 
meant  business,  I  went  to  E.  H.  Curry  Brothers  and 
asked  for  a  loan  of  a  few  hundred  dollars  with  which 
to  provide  lumber  for  a  schoolhouse.  They  not  only 
granted  the  loan,  but  also  took  it  upon  themselves  to 
provide  a  couple  of  carloads  of  lumber  at  reasonable 
prices,  without  any  security  whatever  except  the  word  of 
a  few  colored  men  whom  they  knew. 

I  think  that  by  this  time  I  had  convinced  them  of  the 
possibility  of  my  project.  But  when  the  lumber  arrived 
we  had  no  land  upon  which  to  place  it,  so  by  permission 
we  stacked  it  up  in  the  little  churchyard.  Enthusiasm 
revived  now,  even  among  the  white  people,  and  a  good 
woman  in  the  town  soon  agreed  to  sell  us  twenty  acres 


90  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

of  land.  We  bought  this  land  without  paying  a  cent  of 
money;  we  simply  promised  to  pay  within  three  years, 
and  we  began  the  erection  of  the  first  schoolhouse  that 
the  colored  people  of  that  section  of  the  state  had  ever 
built. 

Before  all  this  took  place,  however,  I  had  to  spend 
three  weeks  explaining  to  the  Methodist  people  and  the 
Sanctified  Folks  why  I  had  put  the  lumber  in  the  Baptist 
churchyard.  I  at  length  convinced  them  I  was  not 
going  to  build  a  Baptist  school,  but  a  school  for  all  the 
people. 

The  Sanctified  Folks,  sometimes  called  "Spot  or 
Wrinkle  Folks,"  was  the  name  of  a  new  religious  sect, 
or,  at  least,  it  was  new  in  Mississippi.  It  was  headed  by 
the  saintly  leader,  C.  P.  Jones,  with  headquarters  at 
Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  it  had  for  its  motto, 
"Absolute  perfection  in  every  member."  It  was,  and  is 
to  this  day,  a  forceful,  domineering  religion.  It  was 
sweeping  everything  before  it  in  our  neighborhood. 
First,  because  it  was  new,  and  Negroes  will  accept  any- 
thing new;  and,  second,  because  it  was  a  religion  that 
was  fundamentally  correct  and  that  appealed  to  the  hearts 
of  those  who  embraced  it  and  of  many  who  did  not.  But 
the  Baptist  people,  who  had  been  dominating  the  com- 
munity during  all  the  years  that  the  Negroes  had  been 
free,  were  fighting  this  new  religion  with  all  their  might. 
Their  arguments  were  interesting.  At  some  points  the 
two  denominations  came  almost  together  in  their  beliefs, 
and  in  some  others  they  were  wide  apart;  for  instance, 
the  Baptist  had  a  doctrine  stated  in  these  words,  "Once 
in  Christ  and  never  out,"  while  the  Sanctified  people 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  91 

had  a  doctrine  which  made  it  plain  that  the  man  who  was 
born  of  God  cannot  sin.  One  would  think  that  the  be- 
lievers in  these  two  religions  could  have  agreed,  but  they 
did  not.  The  trouble  was  that  the  Sanctified  leader  was 
too  much  in  earnest  for  the  Baptist  folks.  He  preached 
that  "Men  should  live  absolutely  pure  lives,  without  spot 
or  wrinkle.,,  The  Baptist  people  said  that  while  they 
would  like  to  see  this  done,  it  was  impossible,  and  that 
the  only  being  that  could  live  absolutely  without  sin  in 
this  sinful  world  was  an  angel.  Some  amusing  incidents 
occurred.  A  great  many  members  of  the  Baptist  and 
Methodist  Churches  left  and  went  to  the  Sanctified 
Church,  and  at  length  the  Methodist  preacher  himself 
became  Sanctified,  but  failed  to  carry  his  congregation 
with  him.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Sanctified  people 
were  in  earnest  about  the  saving  of  souls  as  well  as  about 
making  men  better.  Their  sermons  were  full  of  power 
and  very  convincing.  They  had  no  church-house  in 
which  to  worship,  but  at  first  they  were  allowed  to  use 
the  Methodist  and  Baptist  churches.  They  were  soon 
put  out  of  these,  however,  and  then  they  began  to  hold 
meetings  in  the  open  air.  I  remember  that  one  of  their 
methods  was  to  require  each  member  that  joined  them 
to  renounce  himself  or  herself  and  publicly  confess  all 
previous  sin.  These  confessions  caused  a  good  deal  of 
turmoil  whenever  they  were  made,  and  the  people  that 
made  them  were  so  much  in  earnest  that  very  often  they 
told  secrets  that  carried  them  to  the  divorce  courts  and 
to  prison,  broke  up  families,  and  caused  a  general  read- 
justment. 

I  was  told  that  the  year  before  I  came  to  Utica,  when 


92  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

the  Sanctified  people  first  made  their  appearance,  the  tur- 
moil was  even  greater  than  it  was  after  I  came.  A  story 
is  told  of  a  local  minister  who  was  officiating  one  night 
at  a  service  when  a  sister  offered  herself  for  membership. 
The  local  minister  asked  her  to  tell  all  her  previous  sins, 
and  she  began  to  tell  things  that  startled  the  audience. 
On  and  on  she  went  with  her  story,  involving  men  and 
women  until  everybody  was  tense  with  excitement;  then 
she  came  to  a  point  in  the  narrative  where  she  evidently 
thought  she  ought  to  stop,  but  the  minister,  who  by  this 
time  was  happy,  shouted  to  her  to  go  on  with  the  story 
and  tell  it  all.  Then  she  hesitatingly  began  to  relate  some 
incidents  in  her  life  which  involved  the  minister  himself, 
and  he  then  said,  "Take  her  out,  brethren,  she  is  crazy." 
After  that  new  members  were  not  required  to  tell  more 
of  their  experience  than  they  felt  like  telling.  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  that  the  Sanctified  Church  during  the 
past  twelve  years  has  done  more  to  develop  good  char- 
acter and  Christian  spirit  in  this  community  than  any 
other  church.  Its  leader  and  founder,  the  Rev.  C.  P. 
Jones,  whom  I  have  already  mentioned,  is  a  strong  and 
forceful  character.  He  is  an  earnest  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  truly  a  man  of  God,  and  he  has  many  lieuten- 
ants who  are  just  as  earnest,  if  not  so  forceful.  The  de- 
nomination is  rapidly  spreading  throughout  the  South. 

I  now  started  out  on  foot,  went  from  house  to  house 
among  both  white  and  colored  people  soliciting  their 
aid,  and  received  it  in  a  degree  that  enabled  me  to  pay 
for  the  lumber  and  land  within  three  months.  Mean- 
time, I  had  opened  school  in  the  open  air,  for  I  had  been 
unable  to  get  permission  to  teach  in  the  little  church. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  93 

School  opened  the  first  Monday  in  November,  1902.  It 
is  a  custom  of  the  public  schools  in  Mississippi  to  have 
three  Negro  trustees,  at  least  one  of  whom  is  to  be  on 
hand  at  the  opening  day  to  install  the  new  teacher. 

One  of  them  certainly  was  on  hand  the  morning  we 
opened  school.  He  sang,  I  read  the  Bible,  and  he  offered 
a  long  and  solemn  prayer.  At  its  close  he  attempted  to 
lead  the  children  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  he  got  as  far 
as  the  daily  bread,  but,  although  he  struggled  desper- 
ately, he  could  not  get  any  further.  Thereupon  he  de- 
liberately went  back  and  started  afresh,  but  when  he  came 
to  the  daily  bread  he  stopped  again.  The  children,  who 
had  been  suppressing  their  amusement,  now  burst  out 
in  a  hearty  laugh,  whereupon  Miss  Lee,  who  was  my 
first  assistant,  took  up  the  prayer  and  finished  it  for 
him.  Then  he  stood  up  and  began  a  lecture  on  good 
manners,  which  was  directed  apparently  at  the  students, 
but  in  reality  at  me,  for  he  seemed  to  blame  me  for  the 
students'  laughter,  although  he  had  not  yet  put  me  offi- 
cially in  charge.  Nevertheless,  he  turned  them  over  to 
me  in  a  few  minutes  and  school  was  opened. 

These  were  dreary  times,  indeed,  with  many  hard- 
ships, with  many  difficulties  that  were  mere  annoyances. 
We  were  still  teaching  in  the  open  air,  out  under  the  big 
trees  amidst  the  shrubbery.  This  would  have  made  a 
very  good  schoolhouse  but  for  its  size.  In  such  a  school- 
house  one  could  get  along  very  well,  if  he  could  keep  his 
pupils  close  enough  to  him,  but  the  chances  are,  as  I  have 
found,  that  they  will  put  bugs  down  one  another's  collars, 
and  while  you  are  hearing  one  class  the  other  children 
will  chase  one  another  about.    Their  buoyant  spirits  will 


94  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

not  permit  them  to  keep  quiet  while  they  are  in  the  open. 
It  is  pretty  hard  to  hear  a  class  reciting  and  at  the  same 
time  to  witness  a  boxing-match,  but  those  who  teach  in 
the  open  air  must  be  prepared  for  such  performances. 
These  annoyances  were  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  some 
of  my  pupils  were  forty  years  old  while  others  were  six. 
After  a  while  we  moved  into  an  abandoned  house,  which 
we  used  for  a  schoolhouse,  but  it  was  little  better  than 
teaching  out  of  doors.  When  it  rained  the  water  not 
only  came  through  the  top,  but  through  the  sides  as  well. 
During  cold  winter  rains  I  had  to  teach  while  standing 
with  my  overcoat  on  and  with  arctic  rubbers  to  protect 
myself  against  pneumonia.  During  those  rainy  days 
Miss  Lee  would  get  up  on  a  bench  and  stand  there  all 
day  to  keep  her  feet  out  of  the  water  and  would  have 
an  umbrella  stretched  over  her  to  keep  from  getting  wet 
from  above.  The  little  fellows  would  be  standing  in  the 
water  below  like  little  ducks.  They  stood  these  condi- 
tions exceedingly  well.  Many  of  them  were  not  pro- 
tected with  overshoes  or  any  shoes,  but  they  came  to 
school  each  day  just  as  if  they  had  been  properly  clad. 
It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  hardships  that  we  suf- 
fered during  that  winter,  which  was  severe  for  the  South. 
As  the  winter  came  on  and  grew  more  and  more  severe 
a  great  many  of  the  children  were  taken  with  pneumonia, 
la  grippe,  and  similar  ailments.  I  wished,  in  the  interest 
of  health,  to  abandon  the  school  for  a  few  weeks  until 
better  weather ;  but  neither  pupils,  nor  teachers,  nor  par- 
ents would  listen  to  this,  and  so  the  school  continued  un- 
der these  circumstances  until  the  new  schoolhouse  was 
ready  for  use.     It  is  needless  to  say  that  some  of  the 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  95 

pupils  never  survived  those  conditions ;  in  fact,  the  strange 
thing  is  that  any  of  us  did. 

During  this  time  I  would  teach  during  the  day,  and 
at  night  would  go  to  some  appointed  place  from  five  to 
fifteen  miles  away  in  the  country,  speak  to  the  people, 
stir  up  enthusiasm  for  education,  and  bring  back  a  little 
collection  to  help  carry  forward  the  new  school.  Some- 
times this  collection  would  be  twenty-five  cents  and  some- 
times as  much  as  three  dollars.  On  Thanksgiving  Day 
we  held  a  Thanksgiving  service,  the  first  that  had  ever 
been  held  among  the  colored  people  in  Utica.  It  took 
nearly  half  the  day  to  explain  to  them  what  was  meant 
by  Thanksgiving  Day,  but  once  they  understood  it,  they 
contributed  freely  from  their  little  savings,  to  the  amount 
of  thirty-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 

During  all  this  time  I  had  been  bitterly  opposed  by 
the  colored  Baptist  minister,  whose  word  was  law  to 
every  colored  man  and  woman  in  the  community.  He 
had  fought  me  from  every  point  of  vantage ;  I  had  made 
one  attempt  to  reconcile  him,  but  he  would  not  hear  me; 
then  I  had  simply  let  him  alone.  After  a  while  he  came 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  school  in  which  I  was 
teaching  and  sent  for  me  to  come  to  him,  saying  that  he 
wished  to  talk  with  me.  I  went  down  to  the  road  where 
he  was,  we  sat  down  on  the  ground,  and  this,  as  near  as 
I  can  remember,  was  the  substance  of  his  remarks : 

"Brother  Holtzclaw,  I  have  come  to  talk  with  you  on 
the  matter  of  your  efforts  here.  I  have  watched  you 
constantly  and  have  done  everything  in  my  power  to  in- 
jure you.  I  have  tried  to  block  your  progress,  and  I  have 
tried  to  break  you  up  because  I  thought  you  were  a  hum- 


96  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

bug.  I  simply  did  not  like  your  face  when  I  first  saw 
you,  but  I  have  seen  my  mistake,  and  I  have  come  humbly 
to  beg  your  pardon.  I  would  have  come  as  far  as  the 
schoolhouse,  but  I  did  not  feel  worthy  to  put  my  foot 
on  the  ground  until  I  should  confess  my  sins,  and  I  want 
to  beg  you  to  forgive  me.  I  promise  you  that  in  the 
future  I  shall  help  you  push  forward  that  which  I  now 
see  to  be  a  great  work.    Let  us  pray." 

He  got  down  on  his  knees  and  prayed  such  a  prayer 
as  I  have  not  heard  since.  Then  he  called  on  me  to 
pray,  and  there  we  were  by  ourselves  down  on  the  road- 
side. 

Meanwhile,  a  Negro  passed  by  on  a  mule  and  went  up 
town  and  told  everybody  that  the  Baptist  preacher  had 
"Professor"  Holtzclaw  down  on  his  knees  in  the  road 
praying  over  him,  or  doing  something,  he  could  not  tell 
what.  The  news  went  abroad  at  once,  and  a  great  many 
people  came  up  to  see  what  had  really  happened.  I  think 
there  was  a  mild  suspicion  that  I  had  conjured  the 
preacher.  This  was,  perhaps,  due  to  his  sudden  conver- 
sion, when  it  became  known. 

Meanwhile,  we  got  up  out  of  the  road  and  shook 
hands.  After  it  was  all  over  I  found  myself  admiring 
the  man,  and  I  could  see  the  same  admiration  for  me 
in  his  face.  Since  that  time  we  have  been  warm  friends. 
No  minister  has  done  more  by  word  or  act  to  make  the 
work  at  Utica  a  success  than  this  same  Baptist  preacher. 

This  story  is  worth  telling  because  it  is  one  of  many 
like  instances  that  took  place  in  the  beginning;  and  be- 
cause it  reveals  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  many  an  en- 
terprise in  various  communities.     If  you  cannot  get  on 


Principal  Holtzclaw  and  the  farmers  felling  the  trees 

used  in  the  construction  of  the  first 

schoolhouse  at  Utica 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  97 

with  the  colored  preachers  in  a  place,  your  chances  of 
success  are  slim  in  that  community. 

The  work  on  the  new  schoolhouse  was  progressing. 
Strange  to  say,  all  the  lumber  that  I  have  spoken  of, 
which  was  provided  by  the  Curry  Brothers,  was  finishing 
material.  It  contained  no  framing.  All  the  work  that 
had  been  done  up  to  this  time  was  finishing  work;  we 
had  not  yet  bought  the  material  for  the  foundation.  As 
we  had  no  money  with  which  to  buy  it,  we  felled  some 
trees  in  the  forest,  which  came  to  us  as  a  sort  of  con- 
tribution. Colored  people  do  not  regard  trees  as  private 
property  in  the  far  South, — at  least,  they  did  not  use  to 
do  so, — and  it  was  not  difficult  for  us  to  obtain  the  gift 
of  those  whom  we  consulted.  I  led  the  farmers  into  the 
woods  where  we  felled  the  trees,  then  we  placed  them 
on  the  wagons,  hauled  them  to  a  near-by  saw-mill,  and 
had  them  cut  into  lumber  on  shares.  In  this  way  we 
succeeded  in  getting  enough  framing  to  finish  the  first 
building. 

Despite  the  start  we  had  made,  however,  I  was  fully 
aware  of  the  weakness  of  our  organization,  and  so  I  be- 
gan to  strengthen  it  by  forming  a  more  extensive  organi- 
zation on  a  legal  basis.  It  was  then  that  I  obtained  the 
services  of  the  Hon.  Paul  D.  Rattcliff,  a  reputable  at- 
torney of  Raymond,  the  county  seat  of  Hinds  County; 
and  he  drew  all  the  plans  of  the  organization  according 
to  my  wishes  and  as  nearly  like  those  of  Hampton  and 
Tuskegee  as  we  could.  We  obtained  a  charter  from  the 
State  of  Mississippi,  and  elected  a  new  board  of  trustees. 
This  body  consisted  of  some  of  the  Negroes  already 
serving  as  trustees,  together  with  some  influential  white 


98  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

men  in  the  community  and  some  white  men  and  women 
in  the  North  and  West,  whose  consent  to  serve  on  the 
board  I  had  previously  obtained. 

The  wisdom  of  having  a  mixed  board  of  Northern  and 
Southern  white  men  and  of  Negroes  has  been  amply 
justified.  These  trustees  were  not  simply  figureheads, 
but  were  men  and  women  deeply  interested  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  colored  race  and  of  the  South  in  general.  Not 
long  after  this  organization  was  formed  some  of  the  trus- 
tees began  to  visit  the  school,  coming  from  as  far  away 
as  Wisconsin  and  California,  in  order  to  familiarize 
themselves  with  our  effort.  The  Southern  white  men 
who  were  chosen  were  of  the  highest  type  of  progressive 
citizens,  and  were  not  only  interested  in  the  school  as  a 
school,  but  would  have  been  just  as  much  interested  in 
any  other  effort  that  had  for  its  object  the  betterment  of 
the  condition  of  the  whole  people.  These  Northern  and 
Southern  whites  have  met  the  Negro  trustees  annually 
at  the  institution,  and  all  the  meetings  have  been  of  the 
most  harmonious  sort.  They  have  investigated  the  school 
and  all  its  conditions,  and  have  remedied  matters  very 
often  as  they  could  not  otherwise  have  been  remedied. 
The  majority  of  the  trustees  pass  a  whole  day  at  the 
school  once  a  year;  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Board,  Dr. 
Henry  E.  Cobb,  of  New  York  City,  usually  performs 
the  annual  duty  of  presenting  diplomas  to  the  graduates. 
After  twelve  years  of  contact  with  these  men  from  va- 
rious parts  of  the  country,  I  am  convinced  that  the  best 
sort  of  an  organization  for  this  kind  of  Southern  work 
is  an  organization  composed  of  Southern  white  men, 
Southern  Negroes,  and  Northern  white  men.     In  such 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  99 

an  organization  the  corporation  gets  the  benefit  of  the 
various  points  of  view,  and  under  such  circumstances 
there  is  little  reason  why  it  should  not  keep  itself  in  line 
with  all  that  is  best  for  itself  and  for  everybody  con- 
cerned. As  I  have  said  before,  our  Board  of  Trustees, 
— to  whom  all  our  property  is  deeded,  and  who  control 
and  direct  the  destiny  of  this  work, — is  made  up  of  in- 
terested individuals  from  various  parts  of  the  country. 
The  personnel  of  the  Board  as  it  now  stands  is  as  fol- 
lows: The  Northern  and  Western  whites  are:  Messrs. 
Henry  E.  Cobb,  of  New  York  City;  Francis  B.  Sears, 
of  Boston;  W.  J.  Schieffelin,  of  New  York  City;  George 
L.  Paine,  of  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  John  H.  Storer,  of 
Boston ;  Miss  Fidelia  Jewett,  of  San  Francisco,  and  Miss 
E.  M.  Perkins,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  Southern  whites 
are :  Bishop  Theodore  D.  Bratton,  of  Jackson,  Miss. ; 
Messrs.  R.  W.  Millsap,  of  Jackson,  Miss. ;  W.  J.  Fer- 
guson, of  Utica,  Miss. ;  D.  C.  Simmons,  of  Utica,  Miss., 
and  Z.  Wardlaw,  of  Utica,  Miss.  The  Southern  Negroes 
are :  Messrs.  Emmet  J.  Scott,  of  Tuskegee,  Ala. ;  Charles 
Banks,  of  Mound  Bayou;  L.  K.  Atwood,  of  Jackson, 
Miss. ;  and  W.  H.  Holtzclaw,  Dan  Lee,  Pies  McCadney, 
Harrison  Flanders,  and  Isaiah  Marshall,  of  Utica,  Miss. 


CHAPTER   VII 

So  far,  in  describing  the  methods  by  which  the  school 
was  started,  I  have  spoken  principally  of  my  own  ef- 
forts, but  it  would  not  be  just  to  omit  the  loyal  men, — 
A.  C.  Carter,  Tom  Williams,  Henry  Sampson,  Dan  Lee, 
Dan  Griffin,  Aaron  Caldwell,  Isaiah  Marshall,  Pies  Mc- 
Cadney,  Essex  Gary,  Zed  McNeal,  S.  W.  Harris,  Harri- 
son Flanders,  and  others, — who  met  with  me  every  Mon- 
day night,  without  fail,  rain  or  shine,  for  four  long 
years  in  our  effort  to  keep  up  the  enthusiasm  and  thus 
raise  the  money  with  which  to  carry  on  the  school.  These 
men  were  all  farmers.  All  except  two  were  tenant  farm- 
ers,— that  is,  they  lived  on  and  cultivated  the  lands  be- 
longing as  a  rule  to  non-resident  white  men.  They  are 
known  in  the  South  as  prosperous  farmers.  Such  farm- 
ers are  usually  those  who  rent  large  plantations  for  which 
they  pay  from  one  to  twenty  bales  of  cotton,  worth  $50 
a  bale,  as  an  annual  rental.  Then  they  sub-rent  to  less 
progressive  farmers,  charging  them  a  little  more  in  pro- 
portion than  they  paid  themselves,  and  in  this  way  se- 
curing for  themselves  some  financial  benefit  for  the  risk 
and  the  responsibility  that  they  assumed.  Besides,  they 
usually  cultivated  with  their  own  hands  a  certain  portion 
of  land  for  which  they  in  reality  paid  no  rent.  They 
were  unassuming,  hardworking,  honest  individuals.  They 
and  their  families  made  up  the  bulk  of  those  who  were 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  101 

found  in  the  church  and  at  Sunday  school  on  Sundays, 
and  they  were  in  every  way  the  leaders  of  the  com- 
munity. This  class  of  persons  is  interesting,  if  for  no 
other  reason  than  because  they  no  longer  exist  as  a  class 
in  this  community.  At  that  time,  however,  I  believe 
this  class  was  the  rule  and  not  the  exception.  I  do  not 
mean  that  they  were  all  always  the  good  men  that  they 
should  have  been,  or  even  up  to  the  standard  of  the  men 
whose  names  I  have  mentioned.  On  some  plantations 
conditions  were  bad.  I  have  in  mind  now  one  of  these 
influential  men  who  had  charge  of  a  plantation  south- 
west of  the  town  of  Utica.  If  all  that  was  said  of  him 
was  true,  he  was  far  from  being  a  good  man.  I  visited 
that  plantation  several  times,  and  I  was  struck  with  the 
fact  that,  although  he  was  an  unmarried  man,  there  were 
six  women  farmers  who  were  employed  by  him  and  who 
lived  in  the  same  house  with  him  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  plantation.  More  than  once  when  I  inquired  what 
kind  of  a  man  he  was  the  reply  would  be  that  he  had  no 
wife  of  his  own  and  that  he  had  little  respect  for  the 
wife  of  any  one  else.  Nevertheless,  he  was  boss  of  the 
situation  there,  and  had  great  influence  with  the  owner 
of  that  plantation,  who  was  a  merchant  in  the  town. 
This  Negro  usually  came  to  town  every  Saturday  and 
brought  with  him  between  ten  and  twenty  men,  women, 
and  children  from  the  plantation.  They  would  all  usually 
make  some  purchases  before  they  went  back,  but  hardly 
one  of  them  could  buy  a  penny's  worth  until  this  man's 
name  was  attached  to  the  bargain.  I  found  that  it  was 
best  to  have  little  to  do  with  this  class  of  farmers,  and  I 
cultivated  the  friendship  and  good-will  of  better  men. 


102  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

The  women,  too,  should  not  be  forgotten, — that  is,  the 
wives  of  the  good  men  I  have  spoken  of  and  of  others 
like  them. 

Our  methods  in  building  up  our  enterprise  were  sim- 
ple: we  had  subscription  lists  printed,  and  every  person 
kept  one  and  placed  thereon  the  name  of  any  person  who 
wished  to  become  interested  in  the  upbuilding  of  the 
school.  Then  we  gave  festivals,  sociables,  and  various 
other  entertainments,  to  which  everybody  in  the  com- 
munity contributed  fried  chicken,  baked  chicken,  baked 
pigs,  turkeys,  and  other  edibles.  These  things  were  sold 
to  the  young  people  and  indeed  to  any  one  that  could 
be  induced  to  buy.  It  is  surprising  how  much  small 
change  could  be  brought  together  in  this  way. 

Mothers  sent  in  their  mites.  The  following  letter 
from  one  of  them  was  received  at  a  critical  time : 

"dear  fessor  Please  cept  dis  18  cents  it  is  all  I  has  I 
saved  it  out  n  my  washin  dis  week  god  will  bless  yo  will 
send  some  more  next  week" 

Similar  letters  accompanied  baskets  of  eggs  and  other 
home  products,  and  all  breathed  the  fervent  hope  that  I 
might  succeed,  that  their  children  might  have  a  chance 
to  go  to  school  in  a  good  "school  'ouse." 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  within  six  months  after  we  started 
in  the  open  air  we  had  a  new  schoolhouse  almost  com- 
pleted. Up  to  this  time  the  excitement  occasioned  by 
the  building  of  a  new  and  strange  sort  of  school  in  the 
hitherto  sleepy  community  had  spread  so  rapidly  that 
young  people  had  been  attracted  from  every  direction; 
hence,  although  we  started  with  twenty  pupils,  we  now 
found  ourselves  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-five,  one 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  103 

hundred  and  fifteen  more  than  had  ever  before  been 
known  to  attend  school  in  that  place.  It  is  a  fact  that 
this  extra  one  hundred  and  fifteen  pupils  were  not  resi- 
dent pupils.  They  had  come  from  a  great  distance  and 
were  finding  lodging  with  friends  in  cabins  here  and 
there,  wherever  they  could;  and  this  proved  exceedingly 
unsatisfactory,  so  much  so  that  I  readily  saw  that  if  the 
school  was  to  be  a  permanent  success,  it  would  have  to 
provide  some  method  of  taking  care  of  those  pupils  who 
came  from  a  distance, — that  is,  that  we  should  have  to 
set  up  a  boarding  department. 

In  the  first  place,  I  myself  had  had  no  regular  board- 
ing-place. My  wife  was  still  in  Alabama,  and  I  was  re- 
ceiving from  her  daily  letters  in  which  she  begged  per- 
mission to  join  me.  I  had  asked  her  not  to  come,  because 
I  felt  that  the  conditions  would  be  intolerable  for  her. 
Still,  she  continued  writing  me  to  let  her  come,  even 
after  I  had  told  her  the  exact  conditions, — namely,  that 
I  was  teaching  out  of  doors,  and  that  my  living  quarters 
were  not  much  better.  Her  answer  came  by  return  mail. 
She  said  it  did  not  matter  what  the  conditions  were,  or 
what  the  hardships  might  be  in  the  future,  she  preferred 
to  come  on  and  live  with  me  and  share  them.  There  was 
nothing  for  me  to  do  but  consent,  so  she  soon  joined  me. 

As  soon  as  she  reached  Utica  we  decided  that  it  would 
be  best  to  set  up  housekeeping,  and  use  our  own  home  as 
a  temporary  boarding-place  for  the  school.  We  rented 
a  little  ramshackled  log  cabin,  located  in  the  middle  of  a 
cotton  plantation  near  the  school.  It  had  one  room  and  a 
loft  above  made  by  laying  some  loose  boards  upon  the 
joists.    In  this  room  my  wife  and  I  lived.    I  improvised 


104  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

a  kitchen  at  the  back  of  the  room  with  a  stick-and-dirt 
chimney.  We  bought  two  chairs,  a  bedstead,  two  knives, 
two  forks,  two  plates,  and  a  frying-pan,  and  Mary,  my 
wife,  made  a  bedtick  of  crocus  sacks  and  filled  it  with  hay 
from  the  fields.  This  constituted  our  household  goods; 
and  with  the  exception  of  this  bedtick  filled  with  hay  from 
the  field  there  was  nothing  else  in  the  house.  But  I  was 
not  to  enjoy  even  this  comfort  long,  for  within  a  week 
two  students  came  who  wanted  to  board  with  us  and  go 
to  school.  We  got  another  bedtick,  filled  it  with  hay, 
and  put  it  up  in  the  loft.  The  young  man  and  I  used  that 
part  of  the  house,  while  my  wife  and  the  young  woman 
lived  below.     These  were  our  first  boarding-students. 

The  conditions  were  trying :  the  winter  was  cold,  there 
was  not  covering  enough,  and  I  had  no  money  with  which 
to  buy  more.  But  my  wife  and  I  were  used  to  hardships 
of  this  kind,  and  so  was  the  young  woman,  but  the  young 
man  could  not  hold  out. 

My  wife  was  born  and  reared  in  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama, 
so  she  was  a  city  girl,  and  after  the  fashion  of  city  girls 
she  had  always  been  accustomed  to  using  a  cooking-stove 
in  preparing  her  meals,  and  she  did  not  know  how  to 
cook  at  the  open  fireplace  with  a  frying-pan.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  the  task  fell  to  me,  and  my  wife  tells  me 
even  now  that  she  has  never  had  a  meal  since  then  that 
has  tasted  so  good  as  did  those  that  I  prepared  in  the 
frying-pan. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  accurately  the  conditions 
through  which  we  passed  in  order  to  get  the  school  firmly 
established.  Even  after  we  had  more  room  and  fifty 
girls  and  boys  as  boarders  it  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 


ji  ,____. 

0f" 

^-~-~    .                            ■.;''■'  ' 

- 

~-*7-|?, 

Old  log  cabin  where  the  Utica  Normal  and  Indus- 
trial Institute  had  its  birth.  This  house  was  used 
as  the  first  dormitory  and  was  occupied  by  Prin- 
cipal   and    Mrs.    Holtzclaw    and    their    only    child. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  105 

difficult  to  make  them  comfortable,  with  our  scanty 
means,  as  it  had  been  that  first  winter.  At  one  time,  in 
fact,  the  young  women  determined  to  revolt, — to  "strike," 
as  it  were.  They  came  to  my  office  and  said  that  they 
could  not  stand  any  longer  the  condition  under  which 
they  were  living,  and  that  they  would  have  to  give  up  the 
effort  to  get  an  education.  It  was  very  cold ;  there  was 
not  enough  fuel  to  go  around,  and  not  enough  bedding. 
They  were  actually  suffering  for  covering.  I  agreed 
with  them  that  it  was  hard,  but  I  asked  them  to  come  to 
the  little  chapel  that  night,  promising  that  they  should  all 
have  honorable  dismissal  from  the  school,  if  they  so  de- 
sired. 

We  went  to  the  chapel  two  hours  earlier  than  usual, 
at  7  o'clock.  After  prayers  I  gave  them  a  little  talk  in 
which  I  told  them  something  of  my  own  experience  at 
school  and  of  Booker  Washington's  having  slept  under  a 
bridge  when  a  boy;  then  I  called  on  them  to  remember 
their  future  before  taking  the  step  that  they  were  about 
to  take.  When  I  had  finished  talking  I  was  surprised  to 
see  that  there  were  fifteen  or  twenty  girls  crying  hysteri- 
cally. They  all  came  and  shook  hands  with  me  before 
they  left  the  chapel,  and  they  declared  they  would  never 
leave  school  of  their  own  volition. 

It  was  then  8  o'clock,  and  it  was  snowing.  There 
would  be  much  suffering  that  night,  yet  I  did  not  know 
what  I  could  possibly  do  to  make  the  students  comfort- 
able. When  I  went  down  from  the  chapel  and  opened 
my  mail  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  a  friend  in  New 
York  City  had  sent  me  a  check  for  fifty  dollars,  with  the 
wish  that  I  should  spend  it  for  the  comfort  of  the  stu- 


106  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

dents.  I  took  ten  of  the  boys  and  set  out  for  town,  but 
when  we  got  there  the  stores  were  all  closed  and  the 
people  gone  to  bed.  I  went  down  and  woke  up  one  of 
the  merchants,  told  him  the  conditions,  and  got  him  to 
dress  himself;  then  he  came  to  the  store  and  sold  me 
fifty  quilts.  These  were  carried  back  and  laid  over  the 
sleeping  girls  in  twenty-five  beds.  Those  girls  slept  warm 
that  night,  even  though  they  did  not  know  why.  Some 
of  them  declare,  even  to  this  day,  that  they  got  warmed 
up  in  the  chapel  during  my  talk  and  stayed  warm  the 
remainder  of  the  night. 

Our  difficulties  were  not  all  of  this  material  sort.  We 
had  to  adjust  ourselves  to  the  conditions  that  existed  in 
the  community,  and  that  was  a  difficult  task.  It  is  so 
easy  to  be  misunderstood  by  both  whites  and  blacks.  For 
instance,  one  of  my  first  plans  in  the  early  years  was  to 
drill  the  boys  in  military  tactics,  both  as  a  matter  of 
physical  training  and  as  a  matter  of  discipline.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  boys  had  to  work  in  the  fields  during  the 
day,  so  I  devised  a  plan  of  drilling  them  one  or  two  hours 
at  night  out  in  the  open  fields.  They  drilled  with  their 
old  shot  guns  and  fired  a  blank  volley  now  and  then.  It 
was  not  long  before  a  committee  of  colored  men  called  on 
me  and  advised  me  to  stop  drilling  the  boys.  They  said 
that  the  white  people  were  becoming  excited  and  were 
freely  saying  that  I  had  come  into  the  state  to  bring  about 
a  return  of  '76.  I  did  not  know  just  what  was  meant  by 
'76,  as  I  was  a  baby  in  '76,  but,  in  obedience  to  their 
wishes,  I  stopped  drilling  for  the  time,  and  it  was  several 
years  before  we  resumed  this  practice.     Drilling  (with- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  107 

out  guns)  is  now  a  part  of  the  daily  routine,  and  nobody 
thinks  anything  about  it. 

There  are  many  stories  told  in  Utica  about  the  Recon- 
struction period  of  1876.  I  have  heard  many  of  them 
from  the  lips  of  old  residents,  both  white  and  colored, 
and,  from  all  that  I  can  glean,  the  trouble  seems  to  have 
had  its  origin  in  the  determination  of  the  white  people  at 
that  period  to  rid  themselves  of  Negro  domination  and  to 
reinstate  themselves  politically.  The  principal  point  of 
hostilities  was  about  twenty  miles  from  here,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Clinton,  where  took  place  what  were  known  at 
that  time  as  the  "Clinton  Riots," — riots  in  which  the 
whites  and  the  Negroes  clashed,  and  in  which  several 
lives  were  lost.  I  had  read  of  these  riots,  but  the  stories 
told  by  men  who  had  seen  them, — especially  by  one 
man  who  acknowledged  that  he  had  taken  part  in  them, — 
were  exceedingly  interesting.  The  activity  of  the  white 
people  in  Copiah  county  also,  a  few  miles  south  of  Utica, 
— which,  it  will  be  remembered,  called  forth  at  that  time 
an  investigation  by  a  committee  sent  from  Washington 
by  the  United  States  Government, — caused  the  Negroes 
to  be  subdued  and  stripped  of  political  power.  Although 
Utica  was  not  the  storm  center  of  all  this  trouble,  being 
between  the  two  main  points,  it  was  drawn  into  the  diffi- 
culty. Suffice  it  to  say  that  when  the  trouble  was  all  over, 
and  peace  and  order  were  again  restored,  it  seems  that 
the  Negroes  had  been  shown  "their  place."  Ever  since 
that  time  the  good  white  people  of  Utica  and  of  all  the 
other  sections  of  the  South  have  been  working  to  keep 
harmony  between  the  races.  Here  at  Utica,  therefore, 
the  white  people  naturally  looked  with  suspicion  upon  any 


108  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

stranger  that  came  into  their  community  and  seemed  to 
be  preparing  for  future  trouble.  Therefore,  when  the 
news  came  to  me  that  they  objected  to  my  drilling  the 
boys,  I  stopped  at  once.  I  did  not  wish  to  antagonize 
them  in  any  way,  but  on  the  other  hand  I  wanted  to 
cultivate  their  friendship,  so  that  we  could  all  work  to- 
gether for  a  more  peaceable  community. 

In  this  connection,  let  me  tell  of  our  first  effort  to  have 
public  exercises  in  the  church  at  night.  The  people  had 
warned  me  that  it  was  a  dangerous  thing  to  attempt  and 
had  threatened  not  to  let  their  children  attend  the  exer- 
cises. But  I  created  so  much  interest  and  enthusiasm 
among  the  young  people  while  I  was  making  my  prepara- 
tions that  on  the  night  when  the  exercises  took  place 
there  were  more  people,  both  white  and  black,  in  at- 
tendance than  had  ever  before  been  in  the  church. 

The  church  building  was  located  deep  in  the  forest, 
and  it  was  not  lighted,  except  by  two  or  three  smoky 
lamps  that  hung  from  the  rafters.  We  charged  ten  cents 
admittance,  which  two  of  the  deacons  were  to  collect  at 
the  door.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  some  one  fired  off  a 
pistol.  Women  and  children  screamed  and  men  sought 
places  of  safety.  The  deacons  at  the  door  were  knocked 
down  and  run  over,  and  all  the  people  that  the  house 
could  hold  came  in  free  of  charge.  Those  who  could  not 
get  in  proceeded  to  break  the  windows,  and  one  or  two 
young  fellows  were  on  the  roof  ripping  off  the  boards  so 
that  they  could  look  through. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  confusion  it  was,  of  course, 
impossible  for  us  to  proceed  with  our  concert.  I  made 
an  effort  to  call  the  crowd  to  order,  but  only  succeeded  in 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  109 

producing  more  confusion.  About  this  time  a  note  was 
passed  up  to  the  stage.  It  read  as  follows :  "If  you  do 
not  proceed  with  that  concert,  we  will  show  you  how  we 
do  business  in  Utica.,,  I  did  not  know  just  what  the  note 
meant,  but  I  was  just  as  much  disturbed  as  if  I  did.  One 
of  the  deacons  attempted  to  interpret  its  meaning  for  me, 
and  he  said  it  meant  that  if  I  refused  to  go  forward  with 
the  concert,  I  would  be  shot.  It  was  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  proceed,  and  no  one  was  shot.  My  next  attempt 
to  give  a  concert  was  in  a  new  building  which  was  still 
not  quite  finished.  We  had  completed  the  second  story, 
but  nothing  had  been  done  to  the  interior  of  the  first 
story,  and  in  order  to  get  to  the  second  story  we  had  to 
use  a  ladder,  as  a  stairway  had  not  been  constructed.  So 
many  people  went  up  this  ladder  into  the  building  that  the 
floor  on  which  they  were  seated  began  to  give  way. 
While  we  were  down  on  our  knees  at  prayer  I  happened 
to  cast  my  eyes  over  the  audience  and  I  saw  that  the  floor 
had  given  way  in  the  center,  it  seemed  to  me,  at  least  a 
foot.  Something  had  to  be  done  immediately,  otherwise 
it  would  only  be  a  matter  of  a  few  minutes  before  the 
floor  would  break  through  and  many  lives  would  prob- 
ably be  lost.  I  tiptoed  out  and  went  down-stairs  and 
asked  several  colored  men  who  were  standing  here  and 
there  to  help  me  saw  some  timbers  to  brace  the  floor. 
No  one  of  them  would  help,  simply  giving  as  their  rea- 
son :  "It's  Sunday.  We  can't  work  on  Sunday."  A  few 
hours  after  that  I  saw  one  of  those  same  men,  a  member 
of  the  church,  buying  "Blind  Tiger"  whiskey  not  fifty 
yards  from  the  house. 

I  succeeded,  however,  with  the  assistance  of  Dan  Lee, 


no  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

the  leading  colored  carpenter  of  the  community,  in  prop- 
ping up  the  floor  and  preventing  a  catastrophe.  It  was 
done  so  quietly  that  Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  of  Tougaloo  Uni- 
versity, who  was  delivering  a  sermon,  never  knew  what 
was  going  on  down-stairs,  nor  did  the  audience  know. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

While  I  am  relating  the  story  of  the  struggles  of  what 
is  now  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  I  must 
not  fail  to  mention  one  of  its  earliest  friends,  the  late 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Bed- 
ford, of  Beloit,  Wisconsin.  In  fact,  Mr.  Bedford's  in- 
terest in  the  work  at  Utica  dates  back  to  a  period  before 
its  founding,  for  when  I  told  him,  a  year  before  I  went 
to  Utica,  that  I  expected  to  settle  there,  he  promptly 
came  down  from  Illinois,  went  to  Utica,  and  made  an  ex- 
amination of  the  conditions  there  before  he  would  permit 
me  to  undertake  work  in  Mississippi. 

Soon  after  I  had  begun  work  at  Utica  he  paid  me  a 
visit  and  passed  several  days  with  me,  assisting,  suggest- 
ing, and  advising  as  to  the  best  way  to  proceed.  Ever 
after  that  until  his  death  he  made  from  one  to  two  visits 
to  Utica  annually,  always  bringing  with  him  many  help- 
ful suggestions  in  regard  to  the  work.  I  have  met  few 
men  who  have  been  as  much  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Negro,  and  of  all  the  people  in  the  South,  as 
Mr.  Bedford  was.  Time  alone  can  tell  the  value  of  what 
this  man  did  for  us.  In  those  early  days,  when  we  were 
confronted  at  times  almost  with  starvation  and  when 
things  seemed  hopeless,  it  was  the  constant  letter  that 
came  from  Mr.  Bedford  that  brightened  our  pathway, 


ii2  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

strengthened  our  hearts,  and  made  it  possible  for  us  to 
stand  firm. 

His  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  the  work  at  Utica  was 
always  strong,  and  he  was  one  of  the  few  persons  that 
I  have  met  whose  belief  that  we  would  succeed  anything 
like  approached  my  own.  He  was  a  true  friend  of  the 
Negro. 

The  work  grew  day  by  day.  While  its  influence  was 
spreading  the  task  of  maintaining  the  school  was  becom- 
ing even  more  burdensome.  Outside  assistance  had  to  be 
found,  and  I  went  to  Boston  and  New  York.  I  had  al- 
ready been  in  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Mary  Clement 
Leavitt,  who  had  become  somewhat  interested  in  the 
work.  I  had  also  interested  Mr.  John  Wells  Morss,  a 
Boston  attorney,  who  sent  me  his  check  for  ten  dollars, — 
the  first  outside  assistance  that  I  received  for  my  work, 
and  it  came  at  a  time  when  I  was  nearly  ready  to  give  up. 
It  may  be  that  this  one  gift  saved  the  situation. 

When  I  reached  Boston  I  had  three  dollars  left  from 
my  long  trip.  I  used  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  of  that 
to  pay  for  a  small  room  for  a  week, — for  a  room  that 
was  not  heated,  in  which  there  was  scant  furniture,  and 
I  was  not  accustomed  to  the  Northern  climate.  With  the 
rest  of  the  money  I  purchased  a  meal  ticket ;  by  this  time 
I  was  absolutely  without  a  cent.  The  next  day  I  called 
on  Mrs.  Leavitt,  told  her  my  story,  and  she,  becoming 
greatly  interested,  did  what  she  could  for  me. 

She  had  just  returned  from  a  trip  around  the  world, 
and  she  had  thus  had  the  opportunity  to  come  in  contact 
with  various  races  of  men.  This  trip  had  stimulated  her 
interest  in  humanity  as  a  whole,  so  she  often  said,  and 


1-° 

O     <U 


i  "°  ■ 

III 


a* 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  113 

had  inspired  her  with  a  keen  desire  to  help  the  colored 
people  of  her  own  country.  She  accordingly  entered  en- 
thusiastically into  my  plans  and  sought  to  devise  ways 
to  help  me. 

From  that  day  until  eight  years  later,  when  she  passed 
away,  she  was  my  constant  friend  and  helper.  She  had 
been  a  school-teacher  in  Boston  for  many  years,  and  had 
in  this  way  become  acquainted  with  a  great  many  people. 
Besides  that,  in  her  public  work  in  the  Women's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union  she  had  come  into  close  touch 
with  many  of  the  best  women  of  the  country. 

The  largest  single  donation  that  has  ever  come  to  the 
Institution  came  from  the  estate  of  the  late  Mr.  F.  B. 
Ginn,  of  the  well  known  publishing  company  of  Boston 
of  that  name,  in  1907.  Mr.  Ginn,  in  his  boyhood  days, 
had  been  a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Leavitt,  and  when  she  called  on 
him  for  a  contribution,  or  rather  put  me  in  touch  with 
him,  he  promptly  subscribed  $500  toward  the  purchase 
of  a  large  plantation,  which  we  now  own.  A  few  months 
later,  although  he  was  in  good  health,  he  seemed  to  have 
a  premonition  of  what  was  to  come  and  wrote  me  a  letter 
asking  if  I  would  rather  take  $300  then  or  wait  and  take 
$500  when  I  had  raised  the  $25,000  for  the  purchase  of 
the  plantation.  I  promptly  replied  that  I  preferred  to 
wait  for  the  $500.  Meantime,  before  I  had  raised  the 
$25,000,  Mr.  Ginn  had  passed  away,  but  in  his  will  he 
did  not  forget  what  he  considered  his  obligation  to  the 
work  at  Utica. 

This  is  one  instance  of  the  many  that  took  place  during 
that  first  week  in  which  Mrs.  Leavitt  introduced  me  to 
some  of  her  friends  in  Boston. 


ii4  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

The  week  was  passing;  my  meal  ticket  had  been 
punched  until  there  were  few  meals  left,  and  I  had  begun 
to  fear  that  I  should  have  to  give  up  the  room.  I  called 
on  business  man  after  business  man  in  Boston,  but  was 
turned  away,  frequently  with  scant  consideration. 

At  length  my  earnest  prayers  were  answered,  and  by 
the  merest  accident  I  called  to  see  Mr.  Edwin  D.  Mead, 
who  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  really  great  men  of 
New  England.  He  listened  attentively  to  my  story  and 
read  Dr.  Washington's  letter,  one  from  the  governor  of 
Mississippi,  another  from  the  mayor  and  other  friends 
at  Utica,  and  still  another  from  Mr.  W.  J.  Edwards,  with 
whom  I  had  previously  worked  in  Snow  Hill,  Alabama. 
After  he  had  read  these  letters  carefully  and  had  ques- 
tioned me  closely  he  invited  me  to  lunch  the  next  day  at 
the  Twentieth  Century  Club. 

I  enjoyed  that  luncheon  for  several  reasons, — one  was 
that  my  meal  ticket  had  been  punched  for  the  last  time 
the  night  before.  There  I  met  a  number  of  prominent 
men,  among  them  Dr.  Charles  F.  Dole,  who  has  ever 
since  shown  a  lively  interest  in  the  Utica  School.  I  ad- 
dressed the  Twentieth  Century  Club  for  five  minutes  and 
received  many  congratulations,  and  the  next  morning  I 
received  from  Dr.  Dole  a  contribution  of  seven  dollars 
and  fifty  cents,  which  was  sent  with  his  cordial  good 
wishes.  Since  that  time  Dr.  Dole,  Mr.  Mead,  and  others 
whom  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  meet  at  the  Club  have 
been  constant  friends  and  supporters  of  my  work. 

Meanwhile,  the  school  was  not  prospering  at  home. 
There  was  such  dissension  among  the  local  supporters 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  project  would  be  broken  up  in 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  115 

spite  of  all  I  could  do.  To  check  this,  I  decided  to  hurry 
back  before  there  had  been  time  to  make  the  trip  North 
worth  while. 

Just  when  I  had  nowhere  to  turn  for  help  I  received 
a  check  for  one  hundred  dollars  from  the  John  F.  Slater 
Fund  of  New  York.  It  was  the  first  hundred  dollars 
I  had  ever  received,  and  it  seemed  a  tremendously  big 
sum.  I  hardly  knew  what  to  do  with  it.  The  workers 
for  whom  it  was  intended  would  not  accept  it,  and  I 
thought  it  too  much  money  to  put  into  one  schoolhouse  at 
one  time,  so  I  began  to  devise  a  number  of  wonderful 
things  to  accomplish  with  so  large  a  sum.  Stern  facts, 
however,  showed  that  it  would  not  go  very  far  toward 
the  completion  of  the  building,  but  it  did  go  far  enough 
to  avert  an  impending  disaster  and  to  save  the  Institution 
to  do  its  share  in  bringing  about  the  results  for  which 
we  are  all  working  in  the  South. 

In  spite  of  all  difficulties  the  school  was  growing  both 
in  influence  and  reputation  among  the  local  white  people. 
This  is  shown  by  the  following  editorial,  which  appeared 
in  the  Utica  News,  a  paper  edited  by  one  of  the  leading 
young  white  men  in  the  town : 

"There  is  in  our  community,  just  outside  of  the  corpo- 
rate limits  of  the  town,  a  movement  which  I  feel  we  do 
not  fully  comprehend.  It  is  an  industrial  school, — 
founded  by  William  H.  Holtzclaw  and  his  wife,  two 
Negroes  from  Booker  T.  Washington's  school,  who  seem 
destined  to  do  work  here  among  us  for  the  good  of  all  the 
people, — a  school  that  is  of  more  significance  than  we  at 
the  present  time  realize." 

I  frequently  made  use  of  the  newspapers  to  put  the  in- 


n6  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

terests  of  the  school  before  the  people  of  both  races  in 
the  community,  and  in  all  these  communications  I  sought 
to  make  clear  that  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  In- 
stitute was  a  sincere  effort  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  masses  of  my  own  people  in  the  community.  I  knew 
that  the  best  white  people  were  perfectly  sincere  in  the 
belief  that  many  of  them  held  that  education  was  not  a 
thing  that  did  the  Negro  any  good.  I  knew,  also,  that 
the  best  people  in  the  community,  if  they  were  moved  by 
no  higher  purpose  than  their  own  interests  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  white  race,  would  support  any  effort  that 
they  were  convinced  was  really  for  the  good  of  my  race. 
For  that  reason,  I  took  every  means  I  could  to  advertise 
among  the  white  as  well  as  the  colored  people  the  prac- 
tical results  of  our  work.  I  did  this  to  convince  the  com- 
munity that  education  did  actually  make  better  and  more 
efficient  men  and  women  of  the  Negroes;  that  a  Negro 
was,  or  could  be,  a  real  asset  to  the  community,  that  he 
could  become  an  efficient,  law-abiding  citizen,  preventing 
disorder  and  promoting  peace  between  the  races. 


CHAPTER   IX 

During  the  first  summer  after  the  school  was  organ- 
ized I  determined  to  take  a  quartet  of  young  men  singers 
on  a  tour  as  a  means  of  interesting  more  people  in  our 
efforts.  We  travelled  through  the  Catskills  and  the  Adi- 
rondacks,  along  the  North  Shore  of  Massachusetts,  as  far 
north  as  Bar  Harbor,  Maine,  and  also  in  the  White 
Mountains,  and  we  met  with  several  interesting  adven- 
tures. One  night,  quite  late  in  August,  we  found  our- 
selves at  a  place  not  far  from  Fabyan,  N.  H.,  where  it 
was  not  possible  to  get  shelter  for  the  night.  We  stayed 
about  the  little  railroad  station  until  it  was  locked  and 
we  were  turned  out  of  doors.  It  was  very  cold  consider- 
ing it  was  a  summer  night,  so  cold  that  we  did  not  dare 
lie  down  on  the  ground  for  any  length  of  time,  so  we 
walked  back  and  forth  on  the  railroad  to  keep  warm. 
Late  in  the  night,  however,  the  boys  became  so  tired  that 
they  dropped  here  and  there  upon  the  ground  and  went 
to  sleep.  The  next  morning  Mr.  William  A.  Harris,  one 
of  my  teachers,  who  had  charge  of  the  quartet,  found 
he  had  contracted  a  severe  cold.  He  never  recovered 
from  that  exposure,  and  now  lies  in  the  little  cemetery 
near  Utica.  As  for  me,  I  walked  the  entire  night.  I  did 
not  dare  stop.  I  suppose  I  walked  many  miles  back  and 
forth  on  the  railroad  tracks  before  day. 

In  Georgetown,  New  York,  I  was  surprised  to  receive 


u8  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

an  invitation  from  the  proprietor  of  one  of  the  leading 
summer  hotels  to  address  his  guests  in  the  parlor  after 
dinner.  He  was  careful  to  explain  that  his  guests  were 
largely  Southern  people,  and  I  accepted  the  invitation 
with  some  reluctance,  as  I  had  never  before  addressed 
an  exclusively  Southern  audience  in  a  Northern  state. 

I  appeared  promptly  at  8  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  spoke  for 
about  an  hour.  Never  before  had  I  experienced  such  a 
reception  as  I  experienced  that  night,  and  I  was  sur- 
prised to  see  when  I  had  finished  my  plea  for  my  race 
that  several  of  my  audience  were  visibly  affected. 

A  lady,  evidently  of  much  culture,  came  up  and,  be- 
tween sobs,  said :  "I  want  you  to  know  I  am  a  Southern 
woman.  My  father  owned  slaves.  I  know  all  about  your 
people ;  I  know  their  faults  and  their  virtues.  I  approve 
of  all  that  you  have  said  in  your  wonderful  address.  I 
believe  you  are  the  right  man  for  your  great  task  in 
Mississippi." 

She  then  broke  down  completely,  and  her  husband 
came  up  and  took  her  by  the  arm.  As  he  carried  her 
away,  still  weeping,  he  winked  his  eye  at  me  in  a  rather 
significant  way,  and  said  to  her  in  a  low  voice :  "Come 
on,  dear ;  the  'niggers'  will  come  through  all  right.  When 
you  get  back  down  in  Mississippi  your  cook  will  change 
your  tune."  I  was  thoroughly  surprised  when  I  learned 
for  the  first  time  that  I  was  talking  to  Mississippians. 

While  I  was  on  this  tour  I  received  a  letter  from  Miss 
Fidelia  Jewett,  of  San  Francisco,  and  a  correspondence 
was  then  begun  that  has  never  ceased.  She  became  inter- 
ested in  my  work  and  visited  the  institution  the  following 
year.     We  had  not  finished  the  first  building  when  she 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  119 

came,  accompanied  by  her  friend,  Miss  Martin,  one  of 
the  professors  of  Leland  Stanford  University.  Although 
we  had  no  place  to  take  care  of  guests  at  that  time,  we 
prepared  a  little  rough-hewn  table,  provided  with  still 
rougher  food,  in  the  dirt-floor  cabin.  The  ladies  made 
themselves  comfortable  and  seemed  happy.  They  became 
so  much  interested  in  all  that  we  were  trying  to  do  that 
Miss  Jewett  resolved  to  erect  a  building  for  us  in  mem- 
ory of  her  mother.  This  building  is  known  as  the  Mary 
K.  Jewett  Memorial  Hall,  and  is  one  of  our  most  sub- 
stantial buildings. 

As  the  work  developed  I  saw  that  what  was  most 
needed  among  the  people  was  the  training  and  develop- 
ment that  Dr.  Washington  was  giving  to  the  people  of 
Alabama, — industrial  education.  So  I  turned  my  atten- 
tion toward  starting  that  department.  As  we  had  no 
apparatus,  nor  shops,  nor  money,  I  decided  to  go  to  New 
York  and  see  what  could  be  done.  The  first  person  I 
called  on  was  Dr.  Henry  E.  Cobb,  minister  of  the  West 
End  Collegiate  Church.  I  entered  his  office  and  ap- 
proached him,  with  no  little  hesitation,  but  his  cordiality 
surprised  me.  I  laid  my  plans  carefully  before  him  and 
he  agreed  to  consider  them  and  to  let  me  hear  from  him. 

Some  weeks  later,  after  he  had  corresponded  with  Mr. 
Edwards,  Dr.  Washington,  and  others,  he  concluded  that 
he  would  help  me.  He  invited  me  to  come  before  one  of 
his  Wednesday  evening  prayer  meetings  and  tell  my  story 
to  his  congregation,  who  showed  surprising  interest  in  my 
address.  After  the  services  a  large  number  of  the  people 
came  forward,  shook  my  hand,  and  many  of  them  left  a 
dollar  in  my  palm.     At  one  time  the  hand-shaking  was 


120  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

so  lively  that  I  had  to  use  both  hands,  and  I  went  away 
the  next  morning  with  $250. 

Dr.  Cobb  and  the  members  of  his  church,  who  felt 
that  it  would  be  desirable  for  the  students  to  learn  the 
printer's  trade,  gave  us  a  little  press  and  two  or  three 
cases  of  type,  while  a  lady  gave  some  apparatus  to  start 
a  sewing-room,  and  thus  we  had  two  industries.  An- 
other person  gave  fifty  dollars  for  some  farm  tools,  and 
I  took  part  of  the  money  that  had  been  collected  that 
night  to  buy  tools  for  the  beginning  of  a  blacksmith  shop. 
The  result  was  that  in  less  than  two  months  we  had  these 
new  enterprises  running,  and  they  have  been  doing  busi- 
ness ever  since.  They  have  grown  until  some  of  them 
are  in  a  position  to  enable  the  students  to  learn  valuable 
trades. 

Other  industries  were  added  from  time  to  time  until 
there  were  twenty-two  on  the  grounds, — practical  and 
scientific  agriculture,  stock  raising,  poultry  raising,  car- 
pentering, building  and  general  wood-working,  black- 
smithing,  broom-making,  painting,  saw-milling  and  gen- 
eral lumber  manufacturing,  printing,  bookbinding,  steam 
engineering,  electrical  engineering,  brick  masonry,  shoe- 
making,  tailoring,  plain  sewing,  dressmaking,  millinery, 
laundering,  and  general  housekeeping. 

Everybody  was  kept  very  busy,  but  a  great  deal  of  the 
work  was  imperfectly  performed,  and  our  lack  of  funds 
made  it  impossible  for  us  to  employ  as  many  instructors 
as  we  needed.  One  teacher  sometimes  performed  what 
should  have  been  the  duties  of  a  half-dozen  teachers. 
This  in  itself  made  it  impossible  for  the  work  to  be  done 
in  anything  like  the  best  possible  way,  and  the  teachers 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  121 

themselves  were  not  always  thoroughly  trained,  so  it 
happened  that,  although  everybody,  both  teachers  and 
students,  were  in  earnest,  the  teaching  of  trades  was  very 
often  carried  on  in  a  most  haphazard  way.  Sometimes 
a  teacher  had  to  be  placed  in  charge  of  some  division 
about  which  he  or  she  knew  almost  nothing,  and  had  to 
gain  sufficient  experience  day  by  day  to  teach  the  pupils 
that  came  under  him  or  her.  The  whole  thing  was  an 
experiment,  but  because  of  the  earnestness  and  sincerity 
of  the  workers  there  was  a  perceptible  improvement  from 
day  to  day.  But  it  did  not  matter  how  hard  we  worked 
or  how  earnest  we  were,  we  could  never  reach  anything 
like  perfection,  and  even  now  after  twelve  years  of  work 
we  find  ourselves  struggling  toward  better  work  in  all 
departments  but  still  a  very  long  way  from  accomplishing 
such  splendid  results  as  have  been  accomplished  by  Hamp- 
ton, Tuskegee,  and  similar  institutions.  From  time  to 
time,  however,  changes  have  been  made  in  the  working 
forces,  both  in  the  academic  and  industrial  divisions,  and 
better,  stronger,  and  more  experienced  teachers  have  been 
found  and  added  until  the  work  now  turned  out  is  far 
superior  to  what  it  used  to  be,  although  we  all  feel  that  it 
is  still  far  inferior  to  what  it  should  be;  but  there  is  solace 
in  the  fact  that  gradual  improvement  has  been  made. 

As  the  school  grew  in  influence  and  in  efficiency  I  be- 
gan to  see  more  and  more  the  wisdom  of  Dr.  Washing- 
ton, not  only  in  the  kind  of  instruction  he  was  giving  the 
young  Negro  men  and  women  who  attended  his  school, 
but  also  in  the  influence  that  he  sought  to  exercise  upon 
the  community,  as  a  whole,  white  and  black.  In  order  to 
understand  the  significance,  for  example,  of  a  school  like 


122  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

our  own,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  the  conditions 
under  which  it  grew  up.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  estab- 
lished in  the  black  belt  section  of  the  state,  on  the  line 
between  two  counties,  Copiah  and  Hinds.  In  Hinds 
County,  the  county  in  which  the  capital  is  located,  there 
were  at  that  time  about  52,000  inhabitants,  of  whom 
40,000  were  Negroes.  Of  these  40,000  more  than  13,000 
could  neither  read  nor  write  a  single  word.  Copiah  is 
what  we  call  a  hill  county,  and  contained  about  two  Ne- 
groes to  one  white  person. 

Of  the  12,000  whites  in  Hinds  County  7,000  lived  in 
the  seven  towns,  thus  leaving  but  5,000  whites  scattered 
over  a  county  the  extent  of  whose  territory  is  nearly  that 
of  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  while  a  great  majority  of 
the  Negroes  lived  in  the  country  districts.  In  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Utica  the  Negroes  outnumbered  the 
whites  seven  to  one.  Outside  the  towns,  notwithstanding 
this  preponderance  of  Negroes,  careful  investigation  re- 
vealed less  than  half  a  dozen  comfortable  Negro  school- 
houses.  Why  was  this  so  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  the  colored  people  were  so  lacking 
in  leadership  that  if  they  attempted  to  build  without  out- 
side aid  it  took  them  two  or  three  years  to  complete  a 
comfortable  building.  Before  this  time  had  elapsed  all  in- 
terest was  usually  gone.  There  was  no  enthusiasm,  and 
still  less  cash,  so  the  work  stopped,  and  the  house  stood 
incomplete, — a  monument  to  lost  enthusiasm  and  lack  of 
leadership.  Show  me  a  good  school  building  in  Missis- 
sippi's rural  districts,  and  there  I  will  show  you  an  un- 
selfish young  man  or  woman  who  has  sacrificed  time  and 
strength  to  make  such  a  building  possible.    There  must 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  123 

first  be  leaders  in  the  rural  districts  before  there  can  be 
schools  with  proper  buildings. 

I  have  suggested  that  one  cause  of  the  poor  condition 
of  schools  was  the  poverty  of  the  Negroes  themselves  as 
a  whole.  I  use  this  word  poverty  advisedly,  for  I  con- 
sider him  poor  indeed  who  has  never  learned  how  to 
make  proper  use  of  his  earnings.  Negroes  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  make  quite  as  much  money  as,  if  not 
more  per  capita  than,  is  made  by  a  similar  class  of  farm- 
ers anywhere  else  in  the  country ;  but  the  greater  part  of 
this  money  is  spent  foolishly.  This  is  the  rule,  though 
there  are  splendid  exceptions.  I  have  put  emphasis  on  the 
fact  that  we  must  have  leaders  in  every  community  be- 
fore we  can  have  proper  schools  because  I  know  the  kind 
of  jealousies  and  the  bickerings  that  arise  wherever  en- 
terprises are  undertaken.  I  know  that  there  are  usually 
two  or  more  factions  which  it  is  difficult  to  get  to  work 
in  harmony.  In  order  to  bring  about  harmony  and  in- 
duce teamwork  while  raising  funds  among  the  people  to 
establish  and  maintain  a  school  community,  there  must 
be  a  leader  whose  opportunities  have  been  at  least  a 
little  better  than  those  of  the  average  man,  and  who 
has  the  confidence  of  all  factions.  Then,  too,  whatever 
money  is  furnished  by  the  state  for  the  building  of 
schools  in  rural  districts  is  disbursed  through  the  county 
officers  who  are  given  great  latitude  with  the  funds.  The 
amount  that  any  given  community  can  obtain  for  a  Negro 
school  depends,  to  some  extent  at  least,  on  the  ability  of 
the  teacher  in  that  community  or  on  an  intelligent  board 
of  trustees  who  can  impress  their  needs  as  well  as  the 
justice  of  their  cause  upon  these  county  officers.     For 


124  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

instance,  there  is  a  law  on  the  statute  books  of  this  state 
to  the  effect  that  each  county  is  entitled  to  an  agricul- 
tural high  school,  but  few  counties,  so  far,  have  taken 
advantage  of  building  such  schools  for  Negroes.  When 
our  schools  can  send  sincere,  progressive  men  into  the 
various  counties,  men  who  understand  and  can  get  in 
touch  with  the  white  officials  and  press  their  cause,  agri- 
cultural schools  will  become  as  common  for  Negroes  in 
Mississippi  as  they  now  are  for  whites. 

The  matter  of  local  taxation,  however,  is  very  impor- 
tant in  any  discussion  of  uplifting  rural  Negroes.  I  am 
fully  aware  of  the  state's  duty  to  educate  its  citizens  of 
all  colors,  but  I  also  know  that  Negroes  should  learn  how 
to  tax  themselves  in  order  to  build  up  their  own  com- 
munity. And  in  order  to  accomplish  this  they  need  lead- 
ers. Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington  has  fully  demonstrated 
this  fact  in  Macon  County,  Alabama,  the  county  in  which 
Tuskegee  Institute  is  located.  Gradually  he  has  sent  out 
into  that  county  a  stream  of  earnest,  consecrated  men  and 
women  who  have  gone  right  to  the  heart  of  the  people 
and  have  turned  into  proper  channels  large  sums  of 
money  that  formerly  went  for  candy,  cheap  jewelry,  and 
tobacco.  The  result  is,  as  I  am  told,  that  $5,000  a  year 
is  contributed  now  by  the  Negroes  of  Macon  County, 
over  and  above  what  may  be  received  from  the  state  or 
any  other  source.  Therefore  our  greatest  effort  in  all 
these  rural  districts  should  be  to  teach  the  people  how  to 
use  their  own  earnings  for  their  betterment, — to  use  them 
for  the  substantial  and  not  the  ornamental  things  of  life, 
— to  teach  them  to  depend  upon  themselves,  to  find  in 
their  own  communities  and  about  their  own  doors  a 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  125 

means  of  progress  and  betterment,  and  not  to  look  to 
any  outside  source  whatever.  These  leaders  must  smite 
the  rock  and  let  the  people  drink  of  the  waters  that  will 
flow  freely.  Why  should  people  look  to  any  other  section 
of  the  country  for  the  means  of  educating  and  uplifting 
themselves  when  they  may  have  it  here  at  their  own  doors 
simply  by  trying?  From  the  beginning  it  has  been  our 
object  to  send  out  from  this  institution  young  men  and 
women  who  will  take  the  lead  wherever  they  may  locate. 
Our  aim  has  been  to  teach  them  that,  instead  of  constantly 
appealing  for  funds  from  everywhere  else  except  at  home, 
they  should  seek  to  make  of  every  man  with  whom  they 
come  into  contact  a  sort  of  home  missionary, — one  who 
will  not  only  be  interested  in  the  making  of  his  own  lo- 
cality but  who  will  gradually  begin  to  look  out  upon  the 
world  to  see  if  there  is  not  something  he  can  do  toward 
helping  someone  else. 

Speaking  of  conditions,  the  political  situation  must  be 
considered,  because  it  certainly  has  its  bearing  upon  the 
progress  of  any  undertaking  of  the  colored  man  in  the 
South.  When  the  Hon.  James  K.  Vardaman,  who  up  to 
that  time  had  been  an  ordinary  newspaper  editor  in  the 
Delta  of  Mississippi,  was  before  the  people  asking  them 
to  elect  him  Governor  of  the  state,  he  made  the  Negro 
question  his  principal  issue,  and  went  from  one  end  of  the 
state  to  the  other  delivering  addresses  that  inflamed  the 
passions  of  the  whites  against  the  Negroes.  Taking  for 
his  text  very  often  some  real  or  supposed  crime  of  some 
ignorant,  degraded  Negro  and  putting  it  before  the  people 
in  a  way  to  arouse  in  them  a  deep  hatred  of  all  Negroes, 
Mr.  Vardaman  did  a  great  deal  to  bring  about  strained 


126  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

relations  between  the  races, — at  least,  until  he  was  better 
understood. 

Recently  I  heard  him  deliver  an  address  in  which  he 
grew  most  eloquent  while  speaking  of  the  natural  advan- 
tages of  Mississippi,  and  the  applause  was  vociferous. 
But  when  he  suddenly  shifted  to  the  dangers  of  woman 
suffrage  because  of  the  presence  of  large  numbers  of 
Negro  women  in  the  South  there  was  a  painful  silence 
(quickly  broken  by  an  "Uncle  Jim's"  story),  and  an  in- 
telligent white  gentleman,  standing  near  me  at  the  edge 
of  the  crowd,  remarked  to  one  of  his  friends :  "See,  he 
is  eloquent  when  he  is  sincere;  but  when  he  gets  on  the 
Negro  question  he  becomes  tiresome."  One  of  Missis- 
sippi's leading  white  citizens,  turning  to  a  Negro  school- 
teacher who  was  standing  near  by  and  looking  somewhat 
dejected,  said :  "Cheer  up,  old  man.  There's  plenty  room 
in  this  country  for  us  all, — especially  in  Mississippi.  The 
substantial  people  of  the  South  pay  no  attention  to  such 
stuff  as  this." 

I  remember  Mr.  Vardaman  was  quoted  almost  daily 
in  the  papers  as  saying  that  God  Almighty  created  the 
Negro  a  menial,  a  servant  of  servants,  a  hewer  of  wood 
and  a  drawer  of  water,  and  that  he  would  be  this  until 
the  end  of  time;  it  was,  therefore,  the  duty  of  the  white 
man  to  use  every  effort  to  keep  him  in  his  place.  It  struck 
me  as  strange  that  the  voters  did  not  see  in  this  assertion 
that  Mr.  Vardaman  was  flatly  contradicting  himself.  He 
boldly  declared  that  if  he  was  elected  Governor  he  would 
use  all  his  power  to  prevent  lynching,  yet  he  created  the 
impression  that  as  a  private  citizen  he  would  join  a  mob 
to  lynch  a  Negro,  under  certain  conditions.    After  he  was 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  127 

elected  Governor  he  proceeded  to  do  just  as  he  said, — 
prevent  lynchings.  But  many  citizens,  among  them  some 
of  his  friends,  refused  to  give  him  credit  for  this  service, 
classing  his  acts  with  those  of  a  man  who  would  set  his 
own  house  on  fire  in  the  rear  in  order  that  he  might  come 
around  in  front  and  show  his  neighbors  how  he  could 
put  the  fire  out. 

Mr.  Vardaman  not  only  sought  to  show  by  every  pos- 
sible means  that  the  education  of  the  Negro  was  detri- 
mental to  the  white  man,  but  also  that  it  spoiled  the 
Negro  and  made  him  useless.  He  abolished  the  only  Nor- 
mal school  for  Negroes  that  the  state  possessed,  claiming 
that  the  white  people  paid  the  taxes  and  that  their  money 
should  not  be  spent  to  educate  the  Negro. 

In  all  this,  however,  he  was  not  entirely  unopposed, 
for  there  was  a  large  contingent  of  the  best  white  people 
throughout  the  state  who  knew  that  he  was  wrong  and 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  so.  Among  them  was  the 
Hon.  Alfred  Holt  Stone,  of  Greenville,  Mississippi.  Let 
me  quote  his  words  used  in  the  heat  of  the  campaign: 
"The  public  school  education  of  the  Negro  is  meager 
enough,  in  all  conscience."  Speaking  of  the  taxes  paid, 
he  continued:  "In  the  form  of  direct  taxes,  it  [the 
Negro's  tax]  may  not  be  large,  but  no  fair-minded  man 
can  deny  that  indirectly  the  Negro  pays  as  great  a  tax  as 
any  agricultural  class  in  America.  We  have  the  sum  of 
$139,706  paid  by  the  Negroes  in  four  counties  of  this 
state  alone.  The  amount  expended  on  Negro  education 
in  the  entire  state, — sixty-six  counties,  I  believe, — is 
placed  at  about  $400,000."  Defending  the  use  that  the 
Negro  makes  of  his  education,  he  said :    "What  would  a 


128  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Delta  planter  do,  if  he  could  not  pick  up  a  Negro  who 
could  read  and  write  whenever  he  wanted  him  ?" 

But  the  hardest  blows,  perhaps,  were  delivered  upon 
the  Vardaman  following  by  the  late  Bishop  Charles  B. 
Galloway,  who  not  only  believed  in  fair  play  for  all  men 
but  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  He  never  rushed 
into  political  conflicts  except  when  he  was  fired  by  the 
wish  to  see  justice  done  to  the  weakest  and  the  humblest, 
to  defend  the  defenseless,  or  to  cause  righteousness  to 
prevail.  When  he  did  speak  he  had  the  advantage  of 
great  learning,  accurate  information,  and  much  prestige, 
all  of  which  compelled  men  of  every  political  faith  to 
stand  still  and  listen  to  the  truths  which  he  propounded. 
I  say  he  had  an  advantage  because  many  of  those  who 
opposed  him  were  conspicuously  lacking  in  the  qualities 
that  he  possessed. 

When  Negro  education  was  being  assailed  most  vig- 
orously the  Bishop  defended  it  in  many  great  utterances, 
from  one  of  which  I  take  the  following  extract : 

"I  have  studied,  with  no  small  degree  of  pains,  the 
records  of  the  graduates  of  most  of  the  leading  colored 
institutions  of  learning  in  this  country,  and  I  am  grati- 
fied with  the  result.  I  have  been  unable  to  find  a  single 
graduate  from  any  representative  Christian  institution 
that  has  been  convicted  of  any  infamous  crime.  Educa- 
tion elevates  all  people,  and  I  deny,  with  all  the  emphasis 
of  my  being,  the  charge  that  education  does  not  elevate 
and  make  better  the  black  man." 

While  this  political  turmoil  was  going  on  the  Utica 
Institute  was  established.  It  succeeded,  mainly,  I  sup- 
pose, because  it  had  no  politics  of  its  own. 


CHAPTER   X 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  political  flurry  the  Utica  Nor- 
mal and  Industrial  Institute  grew  year  by  year,  fostered 
by  the  kind  feeling  of  both  the  local  white  people  and  the 
colored  people,  who  gave  their  money  annually  to  help  its 
growth.  If  there  is  a  white  man  in  Utica  who  has  not 
contributed  to  the  expenses  of  the  Institute,  I  do  not 
know  him. 

While  this  work  was  going  on  it  dawned  on  me  that 
still  further  activities  should  be  commenced  in  that  com- 
munity,— that  is,  that  we  should  help  the  people  in  gen- 
eral to  rise  with  the  school.  This  was  a  difficult  matter, 
for  people  who  are  completely  down  are  sometimes  quick 
to  resent  any  suggestion  of  that  fact,  even  when  a  way 
is  made  to  help  them  up.  This  is  just  the  condition  we 
had  to  meet,  but  by  organized  methods  we  in  time  suc- 
ceeded. 

One  of  our  most  profitable  means  of  reaching  the  peo- 
ple was  by  organizing  the  teachers,  of  whom  there  were 
several  at  this  time,  into  what  we  called  a  "Teachers' 
Extension  Movement."  The  various  members  of  this 
organization  were  assigned  a  given  locality  in  which  to 
work,  entirely  apart  from  their  school  duties.  They  were 
to  do  all  in  their  power  to  show  the  people  in  that  locality 
how  to  better  their  condition, — that  is,  they  were  to  buy 
a  few  acres  of  land,  to  have  chickens  and  pigs  and  a  mule, 


130  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

to  pay  for  their  little  homes,  to  plant  fruit  trees  and  shade 
trees,  and  to  build  a  comfortable  little  house  of  two, 
three,  or  four  rooms  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  one- 
room  cabin. 

The  amount  of  work  these  teachers  succeeded  in  doing 
was  something  astonishing.  They  labored  with  the  peo- 
ple incessantly,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  and  oc- 
casionally they  would  have  the  entire  faculty  visit  the 
different  working-places  and  there  make  demonstrations, 
deliver  addresses,  and  help  in  a  general  way  toward 
spreading  knowledge.  These  meetings  have  continued 
until  the  present  time. 

As  an  example  of  the  direct  and  simple  manner  in 
which  it  is  possible  to  teach  the  masses  of  the  people,  I 
recall  an  experience  of  my  own.  One  night,  after  having 
delivered  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  Bear  Creek  com- 
munity, I  went  home  to  pass  the  night  with  one  of  them. 
The  next  morning  at  breakfast  there  was  only  salt  pork 
and  bread  before  us,  with  sugar  and  coffee.  It  was  a 
dry  meal,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  an  average  breakfast 
made  it  no  more  palatable.  I  was  sitting  near  a  window, 
— a  hole  in  the  wall, — and  I  noticed  that  blackberry  vines 
laden  with  ripe,  luscious  berries  were  hanging  over  the 
window.  I  reached  out,  picked  a  few,  put  them  into  a 
saucer,  put  some  sugar  on  them,  and  proceeded  to  eat. 
Soon  the  whole  family  were  eating  berries. 

Such  almost  unconscious  lessons  as  this  have  gone  on 
until  a  large  part  of  the  fruit  and  berries  that  used  to  go 
to  waste  is  now  preserved  and  used  the  year  round. 

One  other  way  of  helping  the  people  has  been  through 
our  Negro  Farmers'  Conference,  which  meets  annually 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  131 

at  the  institution.  At  these  conferences  Negro  farmers 
gather  from  all  over  the  state  of  Mississippi  and  discuss 
their  business,  their  troubles,  their  joys  and  sorrows, 
their  progress  or  failure.  They  always  end  by  "resolut- 
ing"  a  little, — making  determinations  to  better  their  con- 
dition. The  following  sketch  taken  from  the  Springfield 
(Mass.)  Republican,  February,  1905,  will  give  a  fairly 
clear  idea  of  the  object  of  these  conferences : 

"A  recent  conference  of  Negro  farmers  and  educators 
at  the  Mississippi  institution  put  its  conclusions  into  reso- 
lutions that  are  worth  printing  for  the  good  sense  and 
serious  thought  that  is  in  them,  as  follows : 

"  'Resolved :  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Conference 
that  unless  the  Negro  is  something  apart  from  the  rest 
of  humanity,  he  must  follow  the  beaten  path  of  history 
by  making  the  soil  the  source  of  all  prosperity,  the  basis 
of  his  temporal  existence.  We  believe  that  the  race  that 
owns  a  due  proportion  of  the  soil  and  has  improved  it 
after  the  manner  of  modern  civilization  will  receive  the 
respect  and  encouragement  of  mankind.  We,  therefore, 
urge  our  people  to  struggle  by  every  honest  means  to  buy 
land,  to  build  good  modern  houses,  to  dignify  them,  to 
pay  taxes  upon  them,  and  never  mortgage  them.  We 
urge  also  that  every  man  see  to  it  that  his  poll  tax  is  paid. 

"  'Resolved :  That  we  give  more  attention  to  the  build- 
ing up  of  the  public  schools,  for  it  is  to  these  schools  we 
are  to  look  for  the  education  of  the  masses  of  our  people. 
We  urge  that  better  schoolhouses  be  constructed  in  every 
county,  that  a  higher  grade  of  teachers  be  installed  in 
those  schools,  and  that  the  people  tax  themselves  to  secure 
proper  schoolhouses  and  better  teachers.  We  think  it 
wise  that  committees  in  the  different  states  go  before  the 


132  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

legislatures  to  try  to  induce  them  to  introduce  instruction 
in  agriculture  in  the  public  school  curriculum.  [Such 
instruction  is  now  given  in  the  public  schools  of  this 
state.]  We  urge  the  parents  to  make  more  and  more  sac- 
rifices for  the  education  of  their  children.  We  believe 
it  would  be  wise  and  right,  since  our  race  needs  wise  and 
true  leaders,  to  put  a  good  proportion  of  the  brightest 
youths  in  the  best  colleges  with  a  view  to  training  them 
for  leadership.  We  urge  our  people  to  give  more  atten- 
tion to  the  industrial  education  of  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. We  wish  to  declare  our  faith  in  the  efficacy  of 
industrial  education,  as  taught  here  at  the  Utica  Normal 
and  Industrial  Institute,  under  William  H.  Holtzclaw, 
and  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr. 
Booker  T.  Washington.  We  believe  that  the  individual 
who  has  been  taught  to  love  and  dignify  common  toil  and 
is  honest  and  respectable  will  be  sure  to  live  a  useful  and 
helpful  life. 

"  'It  is  evident  that  in  this  country  we  are  destined  to 
pass  many  years  side  by  side  with  the  white  and  other 
races,  if  not  to  live  here  for  all  time.  It  is  further  evi- 
dent that  we  shall  be  useful,  prosperous,  and  happy  in 
proportion  to  our  ability  to  find  a  way  to  live  in  peace 
and  harmony  with  our  neighbors  of  the  other  race.  This 
can  be  done  by  practicing  the  highest  virtues  as  we  under- 
stand them.  In  this  matter,  it  will  not  hurt  us  to  act 
toward  our  neighbors  after  the  example  of  the  lowly 
Nazarine,  even  though  the  world  laughs  and  calls  us 
cowards. 

"  'We  are  grateful  to  the  executive  of  this  state,  to  pub- 
lic sentiment,  and  to  the  officers  of  certain  counties  for 
the  tremendous  efforts  they  have  put  forth  to  crush  out 
the  outrages  perpetrated  against  Negroes  in  these  coun- 


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THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  133 

ties.  In  this  way  they  have  won  a  victory  that  the  world 
should  applaud.  It  is  our  own  belief  that  ministers, 
teachers,  and  other  public  servants  can  serve  the  best 
interests  of  the  South  by  exerting  their  influence  to  keep 
the  masses  of  our  people  away  from  the  cities.  Nowhere 
in  the  world  is  there  such  an  opportunity  for  us  as  is 
offered  on  the  plantations  of  the  South. 

"  Were  we  permitted,  we  would  urge  the  Southern 
planters  to  furnish  their  laborers  better  houses,  giving 
them  humane  treatment,  general  encouragement,  and  pro- 
tection against  outrages. 

"  'We  urge  with  all  our  souls  that  no  Negro  allow  the 
acquisition  of  a  little  learning  or  of  wealth  to  make  him 
pompous,  so  as  to  delight  his  enemies  and  disgust  his 
friends.  We  should  remain  sober,  with  a  deep  sense  of 
imperfection,  diligent  in  every  pursuit,  with  simplicity  in 
manners/ 

"When  counsels  so  wise  are  put  in  practice,  whites  and 
blacks  will  be  good  neighbors." 


Year  by  year  these  conferences  have  grown  and  have 
developed  in  importance,  and  have  formed  the  basis  of 
our  general  extension  work. 

The  resolutions  adopted  at  the  Conference  reflected 
more  the  sentiment  of  the  leaders  of  the  Conference, — the 
preachers,  teachers,  lawyers,  and  doctors  in  attendance, 
— than  they  did  the  sentiments  of  those  with  whom  we 
have  to  deal.  These  leaders,  however,  are  men  who  have 
come  up  from  the  soil  and  who  are  acquainted  with  every 
feature  of  the  situation.  It  is  very  clear,  therefore,  that 
when  they  essay  to  speak  for  the  benefit  of  the  farmers 
it  is  nearly  the  same  thing  as  if  the  farmers  spoke  them- 


134  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

selves.  For  instance,  when  one  of  these  leaders  began 
to  deliver  an  address  before  the  assembled  farmers,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  conference,  moans  and 
groans  of  approval  could  be  heard  throughout  the  audi- 
ence, increasing  more  and  more  as  the  speaker  proceeded 
to  give  an  account  of  what  he  had  experienced  on  the 
farm. 

These  conferences  are  not  held  for  the  purpose  of 
hearing  a  recitation  of  stories  or  of  giving  leaders  an 
opportunity  to  display  their  oratorical  powers,  but  they 
yare  held  for  the  serious  purpose  of  helping  the  farmers 
become  better  and  more  progressive,  and  of  giving  the 
leaders  an  opportunity  to  hear  the  farmers'  stories  and 
to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  conditions  so  as  to  be 
in  a  position  to  help  in  the  general  progress  of  the  com- 
munity. For  example,  I  recall  that  Dr.  Proctor,  a  Negro 
physician  of  Vicksburg,  delivered  a  most  helpful  address 
on  the  prevention  and  the  cure  of  the  disease  known  as 
the  hookworm,  while  Dr.  Harrison,  a  druggist  from  the 
same  town,  delivered  an  address  on  what  medicine  could 
be  obtained  from  any  ordinary  drug-store  for  the  pre- 
vention and  the  cure  of  the  diseases  of  horses.  Another 
physician  talked  to  the  people  about  how  to  prevent  tu- 
berculosis and  how  to  treat  those  already  suffering  with 
tubercular  symptoms.  Prof.  George  W.  Carver,  head  of 
the  department  of  Agricultural  Research  at  Tuskegee, 
spent  two  hours  before  the  assembled  farmers,  with  a 
sweet  potato  in  his  hand,  about  which  he  delivered  a  most 
effective  lecture.  When  he  had  finished,  the  farmers 
came  up  and  shook  his  hands,  and  many  were  the  re- 
marks they  made  about  that  potato.    I  remember  hearing 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  135 

one  old  farmer  say,  "  'Fessor  Carver,  I  been  eatin'  and 
makin'  'tatoes  sixty  years  an'  I  never  knowed  till  yet  that 
there  was  so  much  in  a  'tatoe."  After  these  conferences 
the  assembled  farmers  go  away  feeling  encouraged,  more 
interested  in  their  home  life,  and  better  fitted  to  be  at  the 
head  of  families ;  in  other  words,  they  feel  that  they  are 
becoming  citizens. 


CHAPTER    XI 

Another  way  in  which  we  helped  the  people  was 
through  the  organization  of  our  Black  Belt  Improvement 
Society.  Our  people  are  great  lovers  of  societies,  so 
much  so  that  a  man  who  does  not  belong  to  one  is  hardly 
counted.  I  was  not  a  member  of  any  society  until  I  or- 
ganized the  Black  Belt  Improvement  Society  at  Utica, — 
a  society  similar  to  the  organization  that  I  had  originally 
established  in  Snow  Hill,  Alabama. 

As  soon  as  the  doors  were  opened  the  colored  people 
flocked  in,  until  almost  everybody  in  the  community  had 
been  initiated  and  had  "ridden  the  goat."  But  this  so- 
ciety had  a  serious  purpose,  for  its  object  was  to  help  the 
colored  people  who  were  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  pit  of 
mental  darkness  by  showing  them  how  to  make  a  start 
and  build  themselves  up  gradually  to  the  status  of  prop- 
erty-owning citizens.  The  following  extracts,  taken  from 
its  constitution  and  by-laws,  will  give  some  insight  as  to 
how  it  proposed  to  accomplish  its  object : 

"There  shall  be  ten  degrees  in  this  society. 

"(i)   Members  of  the  first  degree  shall  be  those  who 

have  and  show  a  desire  to  better  their  condition. 
"(2)   Members  of  the  second  degree  shall  be  regularly 

employed  at  some  occupation. 
"(3)   Members  of  the  third  degree  shall  be  required  to 

own  at  least  one  cow,  one  mule,  or  a  horse. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  137 

"(4)   Members  of  the  fourth  degree  shall  possess  twelve 
chickens,  two  pigs,  and  a  cow,  together  with  an 
orderly  house. 
"(5)   Members  of  the  fifth  degree  shall  be  required  to 
own  live  stock  and  to  have  purchased  land  and  to 
be  striving  to  pay  for  it. 
"(6)   Members  of  the  sixth  degree  shall  be  required  to 
own  at  least  one  acre  of  land  and  have  erected 
upon  it  a  neat  and  comfortable  dwelling  house. 
"(7)   Members  of  the  seventh  degree  shall  own  forty 

acres  of  land. 
"(8)   Members  of  the  eighth  degree  shall  own  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land. 
"(9)   Members  of  the  ninth  degree  shall  own  five  hun- 
dred acres  of  land. 
"(10)   Members  of  the  tenth  degree  shall  own  one  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  and  shall  possess  such  other 
qualifications  as  the  central  society  may  require." 
"Any  member  who  is  educating  a  son  or  daughter  in 
some  institution  may  be  permitted  to  hold  the  fourth 
degree,  regardless  of  the  other  qualifications  mentioned. 
"No  member  is  in  good  standing  so  long  as  there  is  a 
mortgage  on  any  of  his  substance." 

The  following  stenographic  report,  made  of  Mr.  Buck 
Davis  at  a  recent  conference  of  farmers,  will  shed  some 
light  as  to  the  effect  that  this  new  organization  has  had 
upon  the  progress  of  the  people  in  the  community: 

"Five  years  ago,  while  riding  along  one  evening,  I  hap- 
pened to  meet  Mr.  Holtzclaw.  He  stopped  me  and  asked 
me  what  did  I  owe,  or  whether  or  not  I  was  in  debt.  In 
them  times  I  did  not  think  it  was  anybody's  business  how 


138  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

much  I  owed.  I  think  Mr.  Holtzclaw  saw  how  I  felt 
about  it,  for  he  said :  'The  reason  I  ask  you  is,  I  want 
to  show  you  how  to  get  out  of  debt.'  As  I  wanted  to  get 
out  of  debt,  I  then  told  him  I  owed  $60.60.  I  had  been 
working  as  a  share  tenant  for  thirty  years  and  had  been 
making  big  cotton  crops  every  year  most  of  that  time, 
but  it  had  taken  all  that  I  made  every  year  to  pay  my 
debts  and  still  they  was  not  paid.  Mr.  Holtzclaw  told  me 
that  the  Black  Belt  Improvement  Company  would  show 
me  how  to  get  out.  I  then  let  them  take  charge  of  my 
affairs.  It  was  not  long  before  I  was  able  to  go  and 
hand  over  to  the  merchant  all  the  money  I  owed  him. 
He  did  not  want  to  take  the  money  at  first;  said  he  did 
not  care  whether  his  good  customers  paid  him  or  not,  just 
so  they  kept  on  paying.  I  stuck  to  the  Black  Belt  Im- 
provement Company  and  attended  the  farmers'  confer- 
ences, listening  to  others  tell  how  they  got  out!  So  I 
worked  on,  under  the  direction  of  the  Black  Belt  Im- 
provement Society,  until  now  I  am  on  foot  and  have  got 
started.  I  feel  a  little  above  owing  a  man  now.  I  feel 
independent.  I  was  in  debt  thirty  years;  now  I  do  not 
owe  any  man.  I  have  bought  a  lot  of  land  on  which  I 
have  paid  $10  and  I  owe  $15  more.  Also,  I  have  bought 
a  ten-acre  farm  plot  and  have  paid  $50  on  it.  I  mean  to 
build  me  a  house  on  the  first  lot  and  keep  the  other  for 
farming.  I  have  dug  every  nickel  I  possess  out  of  the 
ground.  I  am  a  member  of  the  Black  Belt  Improvement 
Company  and  a  friend  to  the  Utica  Institute  and  I  know 
Mr.  Holtzclaw  has  helped  me  to  become  what  I  am." 

This  society  has  grown  rapidly;  in  recent  years  it  has 
been  incorporated  by  the  state  of  Mississippi,  and  it  is  no 
longer  called  the  Black  Belt  Improvement  Society,  but 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  139 

The  Black  Belt  Improvement  Company,  capitalized  at 
$30,000,  and  it  has  in  its  possession  several  hundred  acres 
of  valuable  lands,  which  it  is  regularly  selling  to  the  col- 
ored people  in  the  vicinity  of  the  school  in  small  tracts 
upon  easy  payments. 

As  the  school  is  situated  five  miles  from  the  town  and 
has  no  magistrate  within  easy  reach,  the  Black  Belt  Im- 
provement Company  established  a  Community  Court  of 
Justice,  wholly  independent  of  the  state  or  local  courts. 
This  court  attends  to  all  the  misdemeanors  that  happen 
within  the  Utica  Institute  colony  outside  of  the  school 
proper.  It  has  grown  until  it  has  come  to  be  recognized 
by  all  the  residents  as  the  tribunal  before  which  they 
must  come,  if  they  disobey  the  established  customs  of  the 
community.  For  instance,  one  day  a  resident  was  accused 
of  having  stolen  some  corn  from  his  neighbor's  crib.  His 
case  was  promptly  called  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  during 
the  rest  hour,  and  the  whole  Utica  colony, — men,  women, 
and  children, — turned  out.  I  was  in  the  judge's  seat,  as 
they  have  always  honored  me  with  that  "office."  "Law- 
yers" were  appointed  on  both  sides,  and  the  case  was 
thoroughly  thrashed  out.  I  charged  the  jury  (we  have 
but  five  jurymen),  who  withdrew  and  after  a  while  re- 
turned a  sealed  verdict.  When  it  was  opened  it  read 
somewhat  like  this : 

"We,  the  jury,  find  according  to  the  evidence  that  the 
defendant,  when  he  left  the  neighbor's  crib,  did  have 
something  under  his  coat  like  a  sack  of  corn,  but  we  the 
jury  are  unable  to  say  that  every  lump  a  man  has  under 
his  coat  is  of  necessity  a  sack  of  corn.  We,  therefore, 
recommend  that  the  man  be  discharged  with  the  cost  of 


i4o  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

court  and  warned  that  hereafter  when  he  leaves  a  neigh- 
bor's crib  he  should  carry  his  coat  on  his  arm,  so  that  the 
world  can  see  that  he  has  no  corn." 

The  man  was  dismissed,  and  so  far  as  I  know  no  more 
corn  has  been  reported  stolen  in  the  Utica  colony. 

Another  case  in  point  was  a  man  who  had  been  re- 
ported for  whipping  his  wife.  After  all  the  evidence  was 
in,  and  the  "lawyers"  had  made  their  arguments,  the 
"jury"  retired  and  disagreed.  I  asked  the  parties  to  the 
controversy  if  they  would  be  willing  to  abide  by  the  de- 
cision of  the  "judge,"  and  when  they  promptly  agreed  to 
do  so  I  ordered  the  man  to  stand  still  and  let  his  wife 
strike  him  thirty-nine  times.  This  she  proceeded  to  do, 
and  the  court  adjourned,  and  no  case  of  wife-beating  has 
come  under  my  notice  since. 

These  happenings  served  in  the  early  years  to  break 
the  monotony  and  dispel  gloom,  and  at  the  same  time 
they  taught  valuable  lessons  and  created  a  spirit  of  gen- 
eral progress  in  the  right  direction.  By  these  methods, — 
the  extension  work,  the  conferences,  and  the  Black  Belt 
Improvement  Society, — we  have  been  enabled  to  get  a 
firm  grip  on  the  people,  not  only  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  school,  but  throughout  the  two  counties  in  which 
we  labor,  and  even  farther  still. 

In  those  early  days  the  community  was  very  different 
from  what  it  is  now.  The  Negroes  were  constantly 
"crossing  one  another's  paths,"  so  to  speak,  so  that  there 
were  every  week  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  some 
quarrels  to  be  adjusted.  These  misunderstandings  be- 
tween neighbors  were  usually  thrashed  out  in  the  courts, 
very  often  entailing  considerable  expense  on  one  or  the 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  141 

other  of  the  parties,  and  sometimes  on  both.  Once  we 
had  succeeded  in  getting  all  the  people  of  the  community 
to  agree  to  accept  the  decision  of  our  local  court  in  all 
these  small  matters,  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  keep  them 
out  of  the  state  and  county  courts,  and  in  this  way  to 
save  them  a  great  deal  of  money, — to  say  nothing  of  time. 
In  all  these  years  not  one  member  of  the  community  has 
failed  to  keep  his  pledge  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the 
local  court. 

At  this  stage  of  our  work  various  newspapers  and 
magazines  were  beginning  to  take  interest  in  our  efforts, 
and  they  endorsed  from  time  to  time,  either  in  editorials 
or  in  articles,  the  effort  we  were  making.  Collier's 
Weekly  at  this  time  published  a  strong  editorial  describ- 
ing the  work  in  detail  as  its  reporter  had  gleaned  the  story 
on  our  grounds.  Soon  after  this  editorial  was  published 
I  received  a  large  number  of  letters  from  various  parts 
of  the  country  offering  assistance,  both  moral  and  finan- 
cial. In  this  way  our  efforts  were  brought,  more  and 
more,  to  public  notice. 

During  that  same  year  the  Natchez  Democrat, — a  white 
Democratic  paper  published  at  Natchez,  Mississippi, — ■ 
published  in  full  the  story  of  its  own  representative.  The 
story  gives  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  situation  at  this  time, 
and  is  as  follows : 

"Quietly,  and  without  the  blowing  of  a  trumpet,  Wil- 
liam H.  Holtzclaw,  of  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute,  located  at  Utica,  Mississippi,  is  doing  a  remark- 
able work  for  the  uplift  of  his  people  in  that  community. 


142  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

From  a  humble  beginning,  a  few  years  ago,  under  the 
shade  of  an  old  oak  tree,  the  Utica  Normal  and  Indus- 
trial Institute  has  assumed  mammoth  proportions.  At 
present  (March,  1908)  it  has  on  its  farm  of  1500  acres 
fourteen  buildings,  large  and  small,  where  more  than  400 
students  are  taught  the  various  trades  and  are  given  an 
English  education  by  its  faculty  of  twenty-two  teachers. 
But  the  good  of  the  school  cannot  be  measured  by  build- 
ings and  land  alone.  Its  influence  upon  the  people  of  that 
community  is  so  remarkable  and  the  possibilities  for 
greater  work  in  the  future  are  so  encouraging  that  the 
careful  observer  is  compelled  to  make  a  mental  reserva- 
tion in  favor  of  the  future  of  the  Negro  race. 

"Under  the  example  set  by  the  school  authorities,  the 
men  of  the  community  seek  to  have  more  comfortable 
homes  for  their  families;  the  young  men,  who  used  to 
shoot  dice  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  little  house  used 
for  holding  monthly  church  services,  have  taken  on  a 
more  serious  air,  are  less  boisterous,  and  are  at  least  care- 
ful of  their  morals.  As  a  direct  result  of  the  industrial 
propaganda,  they  are  content  to  stay  on  the  farms  and 
thus  win  competence  for  themselves  and  their  families 
instead  of  flocking  to  the  cities,  and  the  Negroes  of  the 
community  themselves  contribute  on  an  average  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  a  year  to  the  support  of  the  institution, 
thus  learning  the  glorious  lesson  of  self-help. 

"The  greater  part  of  the  funds  necessary  to  maintain 
the  Institution  annually  comes  from  the  North,  but  the 
white  people  of  the  immediate  community  lend  their 
financial  aid  and  moral  support  to  an  astonishing  degree. 
This  statement  is  verified  by  the  names  of  Bishop  Charles 
B.  Galloway,  Mr.  W.  J.  Ferguson,  President  of  the  Bank 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  143 

of  Utica,  and  other  leading  Mississippi  white  men.  This 
work  is  destined  to  be  a  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
Negro  in  this  state,  and  by  his  work  and  from  his  public 
speeches  William  H.  Holtzclaw  proves  that  in  matters 
affecting  his  race  he  will  make  a  leader  safe  and  sane." 


CHAPTER    XII 

In  February,  1906,  the  Tuskegee  Institute  celebrated 
its  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  and  Dr.  Washington  invited 
a  number  of  his  former  graduates  to  return  and  deliver 
addresses.  I  was  one  of  the  speakers,  and  found  myself 
on  a  program  containing  the  names  of  Bishop  Galloway 
and  Andrew  Carnegie. 

This  marked  what  we  may  call  a  turning  point  in 
Utica's  history.  By  this  time  we  had  outgrown  our  ex- 
isting buildings,  and  it  had  dawned  upon  us  that  if  the 
progress  already  made  by  the  Institute  was  to  be  con- 
tinued, we  would  be  compelled  to  have  more  land  in  order 
that  we  might  grow.  I  had  an  option  on  a  tract  of  good 
land  adjoining  our  present  site,  at  a  price  of  $18,000.  It 
belonged  to  one  of  our  fellow-townsmen,  who  assured  me 
that  as  soon  as  I  was  able  to  raise  the  money  he  was 
ready  to  make  the  deal.  Several  of  our  friends  had 
pledged  small  sums  until  about  $5,000  had  been  pledged. 
It  was  then  that  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Carnegie's 
secretary,  announcing  that  he  would  contribute  five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  a  twenty-five-thousand-dollar  endowment 
fund,  or  the  same  proportion  of  any  smaller  amount  that 
was  raised  for  the  same  purpose. 

This  brought  happiness  to  the  entire  Institution,  and 
every  one  felt  that  in  due  time  we  would  be  able  to  raise 
the  remaining  amount.     Mr.  Ferguson,  our  treasurer, 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  145 

who  was  also  president  of  the  Bank  of  Utica,  was  so 
sure  that  we  could  raise  the  balance  that  he  promptly  sent 
for  me  and  told  me  to  go  ahead  with  the  purchase  of  the 
land,  that  he  would  make  a  donation  and  pay  the  remain- 
ing sum. 

I  now  sent  for  my  attorney,  a  young  white  man,  Mr. 
Paul  D.  Ratcliff",  who  has  been  connected  with  the  school 
from  the  first,  and  who  has  transacted  all  its  legal  busi- 
ness. We  had  a  conference  with  the  owner  of  the  land, 
made  the  trade,  and  set  the  day  for  payment.  Promptly 
on  that  day  the  attorney  returned,  ready  to  secure  the 
needed  money  from  the  bank  and  pay  for  the  land.  He 
was  surprised  and  shocked  when  the  gentleman  handed 
him  an  unsealed  note,  addressed  to  me,  which  read: 
"Dear  Sir:  In  regard  to  the  land  proposition,  I  have 
decided  not  to  sell."  This  surprised  us  all, — including 
the  lawyer,  who  realized  that  we  should  have  tied  the 
owner  by  making  a  deposit  when  the  bargain  was  origi- 
nally made.  We  tried  to  reason  with  the  owner  of  the 
land,  but  he  would  not  budge. 

Some  of  my  friends  suggested  that  I  should  sue  him, 
which  of  course  could  have  been  done  with  possible 
success,  but  my  attorney  strongly  advised  against  such  a 
course,  saying  it  was  better  to  lose  the  land  and  wait  for 
other  opportunities  than  to  incur  the  ill-will  of  my  white 
friends.  This  wise  counsel  I  followed  and  the  matter 
was  dropped.  But  we  were  all  the  while  outgrowing  the 
existing  plant. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  get  more  land,  we  now  settled 
down  to  do  the  best  we  could  with  what  we  had ;  and  our 
efforts  to  help  the  people  never  ceased.     Our  Annual 


146  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Farmers'  Conferences  were  growing  in  influence  and  in 
helpfulness.  The  following  report  of  the  conference 
held  the  twelfth  of  February,  1907,  will  give  some  idea 
of  how  the  conferences  were  carried  out: 

The  third  annual  conference  of  the  Utica  Normal  and 
Industrial  Institute  was  held  in  the  chapel  of  Mississippi 
Hall,  February  12.  The  stories  of  the  farmers,  told  in 
their  simple  way,  indicated  that  progress  is  being  made 
in  a  very  satisfactory  manner.  We  give  below  some  ex- 
tracts which  may  prove  interesting. 

Mr.  Henry  Stubblefield  said:  "I  have  been  farming 
for  seventeen  years.  I  have  been  renting  for  sixteen 
years,  and  have  paid  more  than  $3,000  rent.  After  this 
Institution  was  started  here,  I  began  to  attend  these  con- 
ferences and  I  began  to  believe  that  I  could  get  a  home 
and  pay  for  it.  I  bought  129  acres,  and  I  have  paid  $500, 
and  will  pay  the  rest  as  soon  as  I  make  the  cotton." 

Mr.  Frank  Wallace  said :  "I  started  out  working  for 
wages,  then  on  shares,  then  I  rented  land.  I  saw  I  was 
paying  enough  rent  to  buy  land,  so  I  bought.  It  took  me 
five  years  to  pay  for  it,  and  I  had  to  dis furnish  myself 
to  do  it,  but  now  I  own  120  acres.  I  tell  you,  if  you  want 
anything  you've  got  to  work  hard  and  let  pleasure  alone 
till  you  get  it" 

Mr.  Wallace  was  a  little  black  man,  considerably  under 
the  average  size,  with  every  appearance  of  being  of  unal- 
loyed African  descent.  The  entire  audience  manifested 
much  interest  in  his  story,  at  the  end  of  which  many  ques- 
tions were  asked.  Among  them  was  one  by  a  minister, 
away  back  in  the  audience,  who  seemed  to  doubt  the  truth 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  147 

of  Mr.  Wallace's  statements.  But  before  Mr.  Wallace 
could  answer  the  question  another  minister  who  happened 
to  be  presiding  promptly  asked  the  questioner  to  take  his 
seat,  saying :  "I  believe  that  man  is  telling  the  truth.  I 
have  paid  $5,000  myself  for  rent  in  the  same  time." 

As  the  questions  were  flying  thick  and  fast  about  the 
house  an  aged  woman  arose  to  make  a  statement,  and 
everybody  became  quiet.  She  began  by  saying,  "Did  you 
say  you  have  bought  that  land  and  paid  for  it,  and  you'se 
a  real  black  man  too  ?"  Mr.  Wallace  bowed  his  head  like 
an  African  chief,  then  she  groaned  exultingly,  and  said, 
"I  sho'  is  glad  to  see  you  doing  something,  'cause  they 
always  says  down  my  way  that  you  can't  do  anything 
'cepten'  you  half  white." 

Mr.  Frank  Lewis  said:  "I  have  been  farming  for 
forty  years.  I  don't  know  how  much  I  have  paid  for 
rent.  I  tried  to  buy  a  house,  but  I  fell  through  after  I 
had  nearly  paid  for  it.  If  I  had  taken  the  advice  of  my 
wife,  I  would  not  have  lost  it.  I  had  decided  never  to 
try  no  more,  but  after  coming  to  this  conference,  I  have 
determined  to  try  again." 

Mr.  Harrison  Flanders  said :  "I  was  a  slave,  and  was 
let  loose  after  the  war  with  nothing  but  an  old  mother  to 
care  for.  When  I  decided  to  buy  a  home  I  went  right  at 
it  and  paid  for  it  in  five  years.  When  I  got  ready  to  buy 
I  did  not  have  any  money,  but  I  had  a  good  many  friends 
among  the  white  people,  and  one  of  them  stood  by  me 
while  I  worked  to  pay  for  the  land.  I  don't  see  any 
reason  why  any  Negro  should  not  buy  a  home  in  this 
country,  unless  he  is  too  trifling  to  make  the  friendship 
of  the  white  people,  and  too  lazy  to  work.    I  have  a  good 


148  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

little  home  and  am  educating  my  children.  I  wouldn't 
live  in  this  country  now  without  a  home.  I  would  go 
where  I  could  get  one." 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Flanders'  remarks  questions  were 
again  in  order,  and  as  usual  some  very  searching  and 
personal  questions  were  asked.  I  remember  one  of  them 
was  asked  by  a  woman.  She  said,  "Brother,  you  said 
you  didn't  have  a  cent  when  you  started,  and  paid  for 
your  hundred  acres  of  land  in  five  years?"  Upon  re- 
ceiving an  affirmative  answer,  she  remarked,  "And  did 
you  get  it  all  honest  ?"  This  threw  the  audience  into  con- 
vulsions of  laughter,  because  the  majority  of  them  knew 
Mr.  Flanders  and  knew  how  serious  he  would  take  such 
questions,  for  he  tries  to  be  a  very  straightforward  man 
in  all  his  business  relations. 

Mr.  George  Beechamp  said:  "I  have  been  farming 
for  twenty  years,  but  I  have  never  thought  of  buying  a 
home.  I  have  cattle,  hogs,  horses,  but  no  home.  This 
is  my  first  time  to  come  to  this  conference.  I  am  going 
home  and  start  out  at  once  to  buy  me  a  home.  After 
hearing  how  these  other  brethren  have  done  it,  I  feel  that 
I  can  do  it,  too." 

A  voice  was  heard  in  some  part  of  the  house  at  this 
juncture,  saying:  "Mr.  President,  I  want  to  say  that 
that  brother  need  not  let  the  stories  he  is  hearing  here 
fool  him.  It  takes  a  long  sight  longer  to  buy  a  home 
and  pay  for  it  than  it  does  to  tell  about  it  after  you  get  it. 
I  want  to  tell  you,  brother,  it  took  me  fifteen  years  to  pay 
for  my  home,  and  during  that  time  I  had  to  undergo  all 
sorts  of  hardships ;  getting  a  home  and  getting  it  paid  for 
means  to  get  up  before  day  and  stay  up  late  at  night;  it 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  149 

means  you  have  got  to  hide  yourself  on  Sunday  to  keep 
folks  from  seeing  your  rags  while  they  are  going  to 
church  with  their  fine  slick  clothes  on ;  it  means  that  you 
have  got  to  see  the  mouths  of  your  wife  and  daughters 
stuck  out  day  by  day,  while  they  accuse  you  of  mistreat- 
ing them ;  it  means  that  your  neighbors  will  put  the  devil 
in  your  children's  heads  every  time  your  back  is  turned; 
it  means  that  you  must  eat  corn  bread  and  salt  meat 
mixed  with  cowpeas,  and  leave  off  sugar  and  coffee,  and 
rice,  and  biscuit,  and  a  whole  lot  of  other  things.  Breth- 
eren,  I  am  telling  you  what  I  knows,  and  if  you  ain't  pre- 
pared to  stand  these  things,  you  better  stay  like  you  is." 

During  all  the  time  that  this  little  speech  was  being 
made  there  were  groans  of  "Yes,  Lord,"  "Tell  it, 
brother,"  "That  sho'  am  the  Gospel  truth,"  and  the  house 
was  in  an  uproar.  It  seemed  that  the  sentiment  was  go- 
ing in  the  wrong  direction;  one  man  stood  up  and  said, 
"If  that  is  the  case,  I  believe  I'll  stay  like  I  is."  The  pre- 
siding officer,  seeing  that  only  one  side  of  the  question 
had  been  discussed,  and  fearing  that  a  wrong  impression 
would  be  created,  asked  the  man  that  had  spoken  so 
plainly :  "Did  you  mean  to  say  that  you  ate  corn  bread 
and  salt  pork  during  all  these  years  that  you  have  been 
buying  your  place?"  Whereupon  the  man  quickly  re- 
plied :  "I  didn't  say  anything  about  salt  pork ;  I  said  I 
et  salt  meat  and  corn  bread ;  and  I  didn't  have  salt  meat 
all  the  time,  and  what  coffee  I  had  I  made  it  out  of  brand, 
and  I  sweetened  it  with  molasses  I  made;  and  that  is 
what  these  others  got  to  do,  if  they  get  any  land  paid 
for."  The  President  suggested  to  him  that  times  were 
different  now  from  what  they  used  to  be,  whereupon  he 


150  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

retorted,  "Times  don't  never  get  no  different  with  a  man 
that  ain't  got  nothing." 

The  President  then  asked  him  to  tell  how  he  got  on 
after  he  had  succeeded  in  buying  a  home  and  getting  a 
start.  "That's  a  horse  of  another  color,"  he  replied. 
"You  feels  mighty  good  when  you  gets  in  your  buggy  on 
Sundays  with  two  black  mares  hitched  to  it,  and  drive 
along  putting  dust  over  those  same  folks  that  used  to 
laugh  at  you  and  try  to  make  your  wife  and  children  be- 
lieve you  didn't  have  any  sense;  and  you  feel  mighty 
good,  bretheren,  when  you  can  go  to  church  and  take  a 
trunk  of  rations  along,  and  spread  the  table  for  your 
neighbors  and  hear  the  preacher  say,  'I  am  going  to  take 
dinner  with  that  brother,'  and  you  can  put  a  dollar  in  the 
collection  for  the  heathen  in  Africa.  It  is  all  good  when 
you  get  to  it,  but  it's  mighty  bad  along  the  way,  and  none 
but  the  pure  in  heart  can  get  there." 

Mr.  Fair  said :  "I  am  a  farmer ;  I  make  lots  of  cotton. 
I  have  made  two  attempts  to  buy  land,  but  failed  both 
times.     I  have  not  lost  heart;  I  am  going  to  try  again." 

Mr.  Dan  Lee  said :  "I  started  out  with  one  cow,  one 
hog,  and  one  dog.  I  rented  a  mule  for  $50  a  year.  I 
bought  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  worked  and 
trusted  in  the  Lord,  believing  that  He  would  bring  me 
out  more  than  conqueror  if  I  trusted  in  Him,  and  He  did. 
Since  these  annual  conferences  began  I  bought  120  acres 
more.  I  have  a  good  home  and  have  educated  one  son 
and  a  daughter.  I  love  to  work  because  I  can  see  what 
is  going  with  my  labor." 

Mr.  Rivers  said :  "I  paid  nineteen  bales  of  cotton, — 
$950, — a  year  for  rent  for  ten  years.     I  had  no  idea  of 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  151 

buying  land  or  getting  a  home  until  I  heard  Mr.  Holtz- 
claw's  talk  in  the  first  conference  here.  I  just  waked  up 
that  day.  I  went  away  from  that  conference  with  a  de- 
termination to  get  a  home.  Since  then  I  have  bought 
sixty  acres  of  land,  put  it  under  cultivation,  and  I  now 
have  something  to  live  for.  I  can  do  twice  as  much  work 
as  I  used  to  do,  and  I  enjoy  it.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
these  conferences,  my  eyes  might  have  remained  closed  to 
the  end  of  my  life." 

The  President  as  usual  had  addressed  the  conference 
at  its  opening,  and  at  its  close  Prof.  L.  J.  Rowan,  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Agricultural  College,  spoke  to  the  farm- 
ers and  urged  them  to  possess  the  land  they  cultivated. 
Many  short  but  helpful  addresses  were  delivered  during 
the  session  by  persons  engaged  in  various  professions. 

While  we  were  working  to  better  the  condition  of  our 
people,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  in  many  parts  of  our  section 
of  the  country  other  agencies, — composed  of  white  men, 
religious  men,  and  scholars, — were  doing  what  they  could 
to  improve  conditions.  The  following  extract,  taken 
from  a  report  of  a  grand  jury  composed  of  white  men 
and  published  broadcast,  will  be  of  interest : 

"We  find  that  the  disgraceful  vice  of  white  men  living 
with  Negro  women  in  unlawful  cohabitation  has  grown 
to  an  alarming  extent  and  threatens  our  commonwealth 
with  a  mongrel  race  which  will  be  a  menace  to  our  coun- 
try. We  find  that  the  various  officers  of  the  law,  through- 
out the  county,  and  especially  the  mayor  of  the  city  of 

,  who  especially  neglects  his  duty  in  this  respect, 

have  apparently  ignored  the  existence  of  this  vice.    Espe- 


152  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

daily  have  we  found  this  to  be  the  case  within  the  city  of 

,  where  we  find  in  many  instances  black  women 

have  been  fined  by  the  mayor  small  sums  and  their  white 
paramours  shielded,  or  let  go  free,  or  their  names  with- 
held for  fear  of  exposing  them.  We  condemn  this  with- 
out terms,  and  we  earnestly  recommend  that  white  men 
who  have  Negro  women  concubines  be  dealt  with  to  the 
fullest  extent  till  the  vice  is  broken  up,  or  such  undesir- 
able citizens  find  it  more  congenial  to  seek  other  places. 

We  find  that  the  city  of  is  honeycombed  with 

white  gentlemen  who  have  their  Negro  concubines,  with 
whom  they  reside  after  night,  but  because  of  insufficient 
evidence  to  secure  a  conviction,  we  have  passed  up  sev- 
eral instances  for  the  consideration  of  the  next  grand 
jury." 

Anyone  caring  to  investigate  will  find,  I  believe,  that 
such  cases  as  are  here  attacked  by  this  earnest  grand  jury 
are  growing  less  year  by  year,  being  at  the  present  time  in 
many  places  fully  eighty-five  per  cent,  less  than  they  were 
formerly.  I  doubt  if  this  vice  was  ever  as  bad  anywhere 
as  this  zealous  grand  jury  seemed  to  think  it  was.  Vari- 
ous grand  juries  and  other  public  servants  have  from 
time  to  time  attacked  not  only  this  crime,  but  also  other 
forms  of  evil  that  exist  between  the  races,  and  a  great 
deal  has  been  done  to  eradicate  such  vices. 

But  the  main  thing  that  is  so  rapidly  obliterating  these 
crimes  against  society  is  the  education  of  the  Negro 
woman, — I  mean  that  true  education  that  is  bringing  her 
into  the  consciousness  of  the  beauty  and  importance  of 
the  highest  Christian  womanhood.    To  the  properly  edu- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  153 

cated  Negro  woman  crimes  against  society  are  as  repug- 
nant as  they  should  be. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  economic  conditions  at 
the  bottom  of  many  of  the  crimes  against  society.  Pov- 
erty and  crime  sometimes  go  hand  in  hand.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  conditions  in  the  little  cities  of  the  South 
would  be  very  different  to-day,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
tendency  that  has  been  manifesting  itself  for  several 
years  on  the  part  of  the  Negroes  to  leave  the  country  dis- 
tricts and  crowd  themselves  into  the  cities.  This  move- 
ment has  often  taxed  the  ability  of  the  cities  to  maintain 
order  and  to  furnish  sufficient  labor  of  a  congenial  sort 
to  induce  continued  exertion.  For  this  reason  the  new- 
comers have  often  had  to  resort  to  gambling  and  other 
more  serious  offences  in  order  to  make  a  living  at  all. 
This  condition  of  affairs  brought  about  a  dependent  class 
of  men  and  women, — men  and  women  who  had  an  ever 
increasing  aversion  to  work  of  any  sort.  Thus  many 
crimes  that  should  have  been  dying  a  natural  death  se- 
cured a  new  lease  on  life.  And  when  men  once  learn  to 
disrespect,  in  even  the  least  degree,  one  class  of  women 
they  find  it  increasingly  difficult  to  respect  any  class  of 
women.,  But,  some  one  retorts,  the  homes  of  Southern 
white  men  have  always  been  open  to  all  women  that 
wanted  work  to  do,  but  they  have  constantly  refused  this 
work,  showing  that  they  are  not  immune  from  suspicion 
on  account  of  poverty.  These  persons  hold  that  not  only 
will  the  Negro  women  on  the  streets  refuse  to  work  in 
the  homes  of  white  men  for  wages,  but  that  even  the 
educated  Negro  women  refuse  to  work, — that  is,  they 


154  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

prefer  to  do  nothing.    For  instance,  Mr.  A.  H.  Jennings 
writes  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post: 

"I  note  with  pleasure  the  gleam  of  light  cast  across  the 
gloomy  prospect  of  a  warring  Europe  by  your  prediction 
that  a  horde  of  foreign  women,  forced  by  their  destitu- 
tion abroad,  will  come  to  this  country  to  accept  domestic 
service.  If  the  dreadful  event  of  this  multitude  of 
women  being  impoverished,  destitute,  and  widowed  must 
come  to  pass,  and  they  come  here  looking  for  homes  and 
work,  many  can  find  a  hearty  welcome  in  Virginia  and 
throughout  the  South. 

"The  Negroes  who  do  the  household  work  of  the  South 
are  yearly  becoming  more  inefficient,  more  trifling,  more 
exacting.  In  'old  times/  even  after  the  war,  the  darkies 
were  trained,  but  that  training  has  vanished  now.  It  is 
practically  impossible  to  secure  a  trained  cook  or  house- 
maid now;  we  are  forced  to  accept  such  service  as  a 
worthless  servant  class  can  give,  or  do  the  work  ourselves. 
An  honest  white  woman,  willing  to  work,  whether 
trained  well  or  not,  can  find  a  good  home  and  fair  wages 
at  two  out  of  three  doors  at  which  she  may  knock  in 
Virginia." 

Mr.  Jennings'  view  as  given  herewith  may  be  taken  as 
typical,  but  I  believe  he  is  not  able  to  read  the  heart  of 
the  Negro  maid  who  refuses  to  work  in  his  home.  Many 
girls  from  this  institution  have  gone  into  the  homes  of 
some  of  the  best  white  people  in  this  section  of  the  coun- 
try as  well  as  in  the  Northern  states.  They  have  served 
as  maids,  cooks,  and  general  house  girls,  and  in  every 
case  but  one  that  I  have  investigated  they  have  given 
satisfaction.     In  the  few  cases  where  they  have  not  re- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  155 

mained  in  the  homes  as  long  as  I  thought  they  should 
I  have  asked  them  to  write  me  frankly  why  they  could 
not  stay  in  a  place  that  seemed  to  me  to  be  so  desirable. 
Invariably  I  have  received  two  replies:  one,  that,  al- 
though the  people  for  whom  they  worked  were  kind  and 
considerate,  they  have  found  it  necessary  to  seek  other 
employment  where  better  wages  could  be  had,  the  average 
wage  of  the  housemaid  in  the  South  being,  I  believe, 
somewhere  between  six  and  ten  dollars  a  month;  the 
other,  that  they  did  not  receive  sufficient  protection  and 
that  their  only  hope  was  to  seek  another  occupation. 

I  believe  this  last  reason  is  the  more  important, — for 
them  and  for  all  the  rest  of  us.  Respectable  Negroes  will 
trust  their  daughters  in  the  future  in  the  homes  of  only 
such  white  men  as  they  can  trust  to  protect  them. 

To  resume :  This  grand  jury  about  which  I  was  speak- 
ing was  composed  of  earnest  men,  and  the  South  is  full 
of  men  and  women  of  both  races  who  are  determined  that 
this  section  shall  be  rid  of  such  evils  as  I  have  described. 
Wonderful  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  past  few 
years.  Sentiment  has  changed  so  greatly  that  in  many 
parts  of  the  South  to-day  white  men  who  would  stoop  to 
things  that  used  to  be  condoned  would  now  become  out- 
casts from  their  own  people  and  would  be  hated  by  the 
Negroes.  If  Negro  women  find  that  they  will  be  treated 
with  the  respect  that  is  due  them  as  women,  and  that  they 
will  receive  living  wages,  I  believe  more  of  them  will 
do  the  domestic  work  of  the  South,  and  that  no  great 
number  of  European  women  will  be  needed  here. 

When  the  evils  that  exist  between  the  races  are  elim- 
inated better  relations  will  take  their  place,  notwithstand- 


156  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

ing  the  fact  that  there  may  continue  to  be  spasmodic 
eruptions.  And  this  is  true,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
good  that  is  going  on  day  by  day  is  not  given  half  the 
prominence  in  the  newspapers  and  periodicals  that  is 
given  to  the  evil. 

I  have  in  mind  now  the  tragedy  that  took  place  at 
Harriston,  in  Jefferson  County,  a  few  months  ago.  Two 
Negro  youths,  probably  crazed  with  cocaine  and  other 
drugs,  ran  amuck  in  the  city,  taking  the  lives  of  several 
prominent  white  men  before  they  themselves  were  killed, 
— to  say  nothing  of  causing  the  death  of  several  other 
Negroes.  Several  papers  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
almost  magnified  this  incident  into  a  race  riot,  when,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  no  stretch  of  the  imagination  could 
magnify  it  into  any  such  thing.  The  citizens  of  the  little 
town  simply  protected  themselves  against  two  drug-crazed 
youths, — ignorant  youths  who  had  never  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  go  to  school.  Such  incidents  should  not  be  mag- 
nified and  called  race  riots,  for  everybody  knows  that  a 
race  riot  would  be  a  very  different  thing;  besides,  any- 
thing like  a  serious  race  riot  in  any  part  of  the  South  is 
such  a  remote  possibility  that  even  a  suggestion  of  it  is 
altogether  out  of  place. 

In  this  connection,  I  do  not  wish  to  say  that  the  lynch- 
ing spirit  was  not  at  all  present  in  the  Harriston  affair, 
but  from  all  that  I  could  learn  from  eye-witnesses  the 
facts  are  substantially  as  I  have  stated  them  here.  The 
fact  is  that  lynching  has  gone  on  so  long  in  many  parts 
of  our  country  that  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  draw  at 
this  time  a  sharp  line  marking  off  distinctly  the  point 
where  the  lynching  spirit  stops  and  the  spirit  of  legal 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  157 

procedure  commences.  You  cannot  tell  what  the  most 
peaceable  community  will  do  at  any  moment  under  cer- 
tain conditions.  After  careful  study  of  the  whole  situa- 
tion, however,  I  am  convinced  that  in  spirit,  at  least,  the 
lynching  habit  has  become  a  sort  of  institution.  I  have 
come  in  contact  with  men,  who,  although  they  regret  the 
stigma  that  lynchings  bring  upon  their  community,  never- 
theless feel  that  no  great  harm  has  been  done  to  society 
by  a  lynching,  and  in  every  instance  where  a  crime  has 
been  committed  beyond  doubt  by  the  person  lynched  many 
people  feel  that  that  person  got  no  more  than  he  deserved. 
Negroes,  however,  are  opposed  to  lynching  in  nearly 
every  instance  for  any  crime  whatsoever.  Nevertheless, 
some  ignorant  Negroes  in  a  few  instances  have  followed 
the  example  of  the  white  people  in  regard  to  lynching. 

During  a  great  deal  of  the  time  that  this  "race  riot" 
was  being  discussed  in  the  newspapers,  quietly  and  with- 
out the  blowing  of  trumpets  a  number  of  white  and  col- 
ored people  were  meeting  in  the  courthouse  in  a  town  in 
an  opposite  county  and  discussing  the  problems  concern- 
ing both  races,  trying  to  devise  ways  and  means  by  which 
their  difficulties  might  be  overcome. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  taking  part  in  two  of  these  meet- 
ings. I  delivered  an  address  in  which  I  discussed  as 
thoroughly  as  I  could  the  whole  race  situation  as  it  ex- 
ists here  in  Mississippi,  and  tried  to  point  out  remedies 
for  some  of  our  difficulties.  The  white  people  who  were 
present  were  so  much  impressed  with  my  remarks  that  I 
was  invited  to  deliver  another  address  in  the  courthouse 
on  the  same  subject.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  three 
of  the  leading  white  ministers  who  lived  in  the  town, 


158  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  the  meeting  turned  out  in  the  end  to  be  a  sort  of  love 
feast.    The  spirit  of  good-will  was  in  the  air,  so  to  speak. 

Various  committees  were  appointed  to  consult  the  offi- 
cials in  order  to  arrange  for  other  meetings  and  to  keep 
alive  the  spirit  of  brotherly  love ;  and  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe  that  these  meetings  have  done  a  great  deal  to 
strengthen  the  friendship  of  one  race  for  the  other  in 
this  section. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  trouble  in  Harriston  oc- 
curred another  agency, — The  Southern  Sociological  Con- 
gress,— was  holding  meetings  in  the  capital  of  the  state 
and  seeking  to  find  remedies  for  the  South' s  racial  diffi- 
culties. Three  or  four  columns  of  various  daily  papers 
were  taken  up  with  discussions  of  the  "race  riot"  at  Har- 
riston, while  three  to  five  lines  in  a  few  of  the  daily 
papers  were  given  to  the  efforts  to  prevent  just  such  oc- 
currences. But  quiet  work  is  going  on  throughout  the 
South,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  any  notoriety,  and  it  is 
bound  to  bear  fruit  in  the  end. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

Our  work  and  influence  were  increasing  every  year, 
and  in  our  present  quarters  we  were  beginning  to  feel 
cramped  in  many  ways.  Mr.  Ferguson,  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Utica  and  treasurer  of  our  Board  of  Trustees, 
opened  up  negotiations  with  a  wealthy  white  planter  who 
owned  a  plantation  five  miles  south  of  the  town,  consist- 
ing of  1,500  acres, — property  that  was  to  be  bought  for 
about  fifteen  dollars  an  acre.  It  was  improved  land  and 
contained  some  of  the  best  soil  in  that  section.  Just  as 
the  trade  was  almost  settled  it  became  noised  about  that 
some  of  the  white  people  living  in  that  immediate  neigh- 
borhood began  to  feel  that  the  school  was  better  off  where 
it  was,  and  that  it  might  prove  a  bad  addition  to  their 
side  of  the  village.  About  that  time  I  received  through 
the  mail  an  ultimatum  signed  by  possibly  one  hundred 
and  fifty  white  men,  not  one  of  whom  I  knew.  The  ulti- 
matum, short  and  to  the  point,  was  as  follows : 

"W.  H.  Holtzclaw,  Utica,  Miss. : 

"We,  the  undersigned,  demand  that  you  do  not  build 
a  school  or  college  near  this  community." 

As  no  addresses  were  given,  I  could  make  no  reply. 
Inasmuch  as  the  trade  had  been  practically  completed, 


160  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

with  the  exception  of  paying  the  money,  I  had  a  meeting 
of  my  local  board  to  see  what  should  be  done.  When  I 
read  the  ultimatum  to  them  they  stampeded,  and  of  the 
nine  seven  voted  to  call  off  the  trade.  I  had  always  been 
guided  largely  by  what  they  said,  but  in  this  case  I  be- 
lieved that  they  were  wrong.  However,  I  meant  to  go 
slowly.  I  consulted  Mr.  Ferguson  and  my  other  white 
friends,  and  they  suggested  that  I  should  go  and  see 
some  of  the  men  that  had  signed  the  ultimatum.  I  called 
on  one  or  two  of  them, — those  that  I  thought  were  the 
leaders, — and  asked  them  what  were  their  objections  to 
our  having  the  land.  They  said  the  plantation  was  so 
situated  that  they  thought  that  if  the  present  owner  was 
going  to  get  rid  of  it,  they  ought  to  have  it  themselves; 
and  that  they  had  determined  to  buy  it. 

In  deference  to  their  wishes,  I  agreed  that  if  they 
wished  to  buy  it,  I  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with 
it.  They  were  getting  together  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing it,  but  before  they  could  make  their  arrange- 
ments the  financial  panic  of  1906  came  on  and  they  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  buying  the  plantation.  The  way  then 
seemed  clear  for  me  to  purchase  the  place,  and  the  owner 
was  urging  the  trade  with  all  his  might. 

I  did  not  have  sufficient  money  at  the  time  to  make  the 
purchase,  but  my  friend,  Mr.  Ferguson,  president  of  the 
bank  of  the  town,  had  agreed  to  furnish  me  any  amount 
of  money  necessary  to  secure  the  property,  at  reasonable 
interest.  But  the  purchase  money,  including  the  appar- 
atus to  be  bought  with  the  plantation,  amounted  to  about 
$25,000,  while  I  had  only  a  few  thousand  dollars,  which 
friends  had  contributed   for  the  other  trade  that  had 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  161 

failed,  and  which  they  had  allowed  me  to  hold,  pending 
some  solution  of  the  land  problem. 

Meantime,  although  many  of  the  white  people  who 
lived  only  a  mile  away  from  the  plantation  had  assured 
me  that  as  they  did  not  care  to  buy  under  the  present 
financial  conditions  they  were  perfectly  willing  that  I 
should  buy,  the  colored  people  throughout  the  community 
had  worked  themselves  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement. 
They  declared  that  the  white  people  would  never  allow  us 
to  buy  that  plantation.  But  the  white  men  on  the  local 
Board  of  Trustees  were  ready  to  accept  the  responsibility, 
and  were  urging  me  to  go  forward. 

This  was  a  case,  however,  where  I  felt  it  necessary  to 
go  slowly,  as  my  white  friends  all  advised  me  to  do. 
Five  of  the  colored  trustees  owned  land  by  this  time,  and 
had  it  paid  for.  In  order  to  borrow  sufficient  money 
from  the  bank  to  carry  out  the  purchase,  we  thought  that 
it  might  be  necessary  to  give  some  kind  of  security,  so 
that  loyal  band  of  Trustees,  finally  convinced  that  I  was 
going  forward,  agreed  in  one  of  our  meetings  that  each 
man  should  mortgage  his  plantation.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  made  their  offers. 

I  carefully  explained  to  them  that  if  I  should  fail 
ultimately  to  raise  the  money  necessary  to  finish  paying 
for  the  plantation,  each  of  them  would  lose  his  property 
and  would  again  be  at  the  bottom.  But  their  faith  never 
wavered.  They  still  pleaded  for  the  opportunity  to  mort- 
gage their  little  plantations  and  homes  that  the  trade 
might  be  put  through.  I  reported  this  to  the  bank,  which 
promptly  refused  to  accept  the  collateral,  agreeing  to  let 
me  have  the  money  all  the  same. 


162  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Among  those  earnest  farmer-trustees  was  one,  Harri- 
son Flanders,  who  owned  a  little  plantation  very  near  the 
edge  of  town.  He  had  several  sons  to  be  educated  and 
was  eager  for  the  school  to  be  properly  established.  So 
eager  was  he  that  he  offered,  if  we  could  not  get  more 
land,  to  sell  us  half  of  his  own  little  plantation,  to  be 
added  to  the  little  that  we  already  had  and  in  this  way 
make  room  for  the  growing  school.  Everybody  felt  that 
this  was  so  supreme  a  sacrifice  that  none  of  us  could 
afford  to  accept  it,  even  though  he  urged  it  with  all  his 
heart. 

Excitement  in  regard  to  the  purchase  of  the  plantation 
ran  high,  and  meetings  were  being  held  among  the  col- 
ored people  in  which  they  thoroughly  discussed  the  matter 
and  appointed  committees  to  warn  me  not  to  go  forward 
with  the  purchase.  It  is  difficult  for  one  not  acquainted 
with  the  situation  to  understand  the  state  of  panic  that 
possessed  the  colored  people  at  this  time.  All  the  day 
before  the  time  for  concluding  the  bargain  my  friends 
called  upon  me  and  urged  me  not  to  go  down  to  the 
plantation  the  next  day,  saying  that  if  I  did  so  the 
chances  were  that  I  should  never  get  back  alive.  To  save 
me,  I  could  not  conscientiously  share  their  feeling  in  the 
matter. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  I  was  to  go  down  and 
finish  the  trade  and  make  the  first  payment,  while  I  was 
at  the  breakfast  table,  a  Negro  man  came  down  the  pub- 
lic road  on  horseback,  at  full  speed,  jumped  off  at  my  gate, 
and  ran  in,  without  taking  time  to  hitch  his  horse.  He 
said  he  had  something  to  tell  me,  and  that  he  did  not  want 
to  tell  it  in  the  presence  of  my  wife.    I  urged  him  to  sit 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  163 

down  at  the  table  and  say  what  he  had  to  say,  as  I  pre- 
ferred for  my  wife  to  hear  anything  he  had  to  tell.  I 
had  guessed  what  was  on  his  mind.  He  said  that  he  had 
been  asked  by  one  of  my  white  friends  to  come  and  warn 
me  not  to  go  down  that  road  that  afternoon;  that  if  I 
did  so,  they  believed  my  life  would  be  in  danger.  The 
good  man  was  greatly  frightened  and  was  panting  like  an 
overheated  ox.  My  wife  dropped  her  knife  and  fork  and 
turned  pale, — that  is,  as  pale  as  she  could.  I  thanked  the 
man  for  his  kindness,  and  refused  to  discuss  the  matter 
any  further.  He  left,  and  I  went  to  my  office  as  usual, 
transacted  a  day's  work,  and  at  half-past  four  got  astride 
my  little  pony  and  made  off  to  the  plantation  to  complete 
the  trade,  while  my  wife  stood  on  the  veranda  and 
watched  me  out  of  sight. 

I  did  not  return  until  ten  o'clock  that  night,  and  she 
tells  me  those  hours  were  some  of  the  most  anxious  of 
her  whole  life.  Every  person  that  passed  along  the  road 
she  expected  to  be  someone  riding  up  to  tell  her  that  I 
had  been  assassinated. 

I  had  to  go  to  the  plantation  alone.  No  man,  not  even 
the  old  reliable  trustees,  would  agree  to  accompany  me. 
My  teachers,  mostly  women,  were  all  afraid.  Several  of 
them  had  packed  their  trunks  and  were  ready  to  go  home, 
and  one  had  actually  bought  a  ticket.  When  I  reached 
the  plantation  the  man  was  there  ready  to  close  the  trade, 
and  many  of  the  white  people  that  the  Negroes  thought 
were  ready  to  do  violence  to  me  were  only  there  to  see 
that  their  neighbor,  who  was  selling  his  plantation,  came 
through  all  right.  They  greeted  me  pleasantly.  Indeed, 
I  have  never  met  men  who  were  more  gentlemanly  than 


164  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

they  were.  Not  one  sign  of  ill-will  did  I  see.  When  the 
trade  was  finished  I  returned  home  alone.  My  friends 
were  greatly  surprised  when  I  told  them  the  next  day 
that  I  did  not  even  have  a  pocketknife  with  me.  They 
thought  surely  I  would  have  armed  myself.  The  bank 
promptly  paid  the  money,  lending  me  $10,000  on  my  per- 
sonal note, — the  same  bank  that  five  years  before  had 
refused,  and  with  good  reason,  because  they  did  not  know 
me,  to  lend  me  $300  to  purchase  forty  acres. 

The  task  now  before  us  was  to  pay  for  that  land  and 
move  over  onto  it  the  few  temporary  structures  that  we 
had  built  at  the  original  site.  Therefore  I  left  the  school 
in  charge  of  Mr.  D.  W.  L.  Davis,  Superintendent  of  In- 
dustries, my  most  trusted  lieutenant,  and  made  a  cam- 
paign for  funds. 

From  September  to  the  23d  of  December  I  worked  in 
various  states  as  I  had  never  done  before.  On  December 
23d  I  returned,  lacking  seventeen  thousand  dollars,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  was 
to  be  paid  December  26.  I  think  the  bankers  themselves 
began  to  feel  a  little  uneasy,  and  perhaps  began  to  doubt 
my  ability  to  raise  the  money  in  time.  The  night  I 
reached  home  I  was  so  worn  out  that  I  was  unable  to  get 
about  and  was  confined  to  my  room.  About  eleven 
o'clock  that  night  the  president  and  the  cashier  of  the 
bank  called  on  me  to  see  how  I  had  succeeded  on  my 
money-raising  trip.  When  I  told  them  that  I  still  lacked 
$17,000  of  having  sufficient  money  I  was  surprised  that 
they  showed  no  signs  of  displeasure,  but  rather  seemed  to 
be  pleased  that  I  had  got  together  $8,000,  and  after  a 
short  conversation  they  assured  me  that  if  the  $25,000 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  165 

was  not  ready  at  the  proper  time,  I  need  not  be  uneasy : 
the  bank  would  carry  it  as  long  as  I  desired. 

I  could  not  feel  quite  discouraged,  though  I  must  con- 
fess I  was  almost  disheartened  at  this  time,  but  the  atti- 
tude of  the  bankers  strengthened  me,  and  I  telegraphed 
to  some  of  the  subscribers  asking  if,  under  the  circum- 
stances, they  would  not  allow  us  the  use  of  their  pledges, 
even  if  I  had  not  quite  met  the  conditions. 

On  Christmas  Day,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I 
received  a  message  from  one  of  the  subscribers  in  which 
he  said  he  did  not  care  to  change  the  original  plans.  Two 
hours  later  I  received  another  telegram  from  him  in 
which  he  said  he  had  changed  his  mind,  and  that  he  was 
mailing  a  check  for  the  amount  of  his  pledge.  Then  I 
began  to  feel  encouraged.  Twenty  minutes  later  I  re- 
ceived another  telegram  from  a  lady  in  Boston  who  said 
that  although  she  was  on  her  sick  bed,  from  which  she 
never  expected  to  rise  (she  was  96  years  old),  she  was 
writing  me  perhaps  the  last  check  she  would  ever  write, 
— for  five  hundred  dollars, — and  that  I  might  expect  it 
in  due  time.  My  dejected  spirits  were  now  rising  by 
leaps  and  bounds. 

Two  hours  later  a  fourth  telegram  came,  this  time 
from  Mrs.  Leavitt,  saying  she  had  been  notified  that  a 
legacy  had  been  left  as  an  endowment, — to  be  used  in  the 
purchase  of  the  land. 

I  now  needed  but  fifteen  hundred  dollars  more.  I 
called  the  teachers  and  students  together  in  the  chapel 
and  told  them  the  situation,  whereupon  the  teachers  rose 
in  a  body  and  said  they  would  contribute  one  month's  sal- 
ary each  toward  the  balance.    The  students  ran  to  their 


i66  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

rooms,  got  out  their  Christmas  money,  which  consisted 
of  about  twenty-five  cents  apiece,  and  contributed  from 
one  to  five  cents  each.  Our  assistant  treasurer,  Mr. 
Smith,  counted  it  all  up  and  found  that  still  about  thir- 
teen hundred  dollars  was  needed. 

The  mail  came  then,  and  I  went  down  to  open  it. 
There  was  that  thirteen  hundred,  contributed  by  several 
dozen  different  individuals,  with  a  few  dollars  over.  So 
I  was  ready  to  "take  Christmas,"  even  though  mine 
lasted  only  one- fourth  of  a  day. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

I  have  referred  to  the  fear  that  the  colored  people 
generally  felt  about  moving  to  and  fro  among  our  white 
fellow-citizens  in  this  section  of  the  country.  Our  stu- 
dent body  shared  fully  this  sentiment.  For  instance :  one 
night,  just  after  we  had  come  to  the  new  plantation,  a 
lamp  exploded  in  a  room  occupied  by  some  of  the  girls. 
There  was  much  commotion  among  the  students  and  the 
girls  screamed  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  When  I  reached 
the  scene  and  inquired  regarding  the  trouble,  the  girls 
said  that  a  white  man  was  breaking  into  the  house.  I 
began  to  feel  around  in  the  dark  and,  sure  enough,  there 
was  a  real  white  man.  When  I  found  him  he  said  yes, 
he  had  been  trying  to  break  into  the  house  to  put  out  the 
exploded  lamp,  which  he  had  seen  from  the  road  as  he 
was  passing,  but  later  had  settled  down  to  enjoy  the  ex- 
citement he  had  created. 

This  fear  of  the  whites  was  shown  on  another  oc- 
casion. In  the  fall  of  1908  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington 
and  a  party  of  thirty  of  the  leading  colored  men  from 
various  parts  of  the  country  made  a  tour  through  Mis- 
sissippi. 

On  learning  that  Dr.  Washington  was  going  to  visit 
the  state,  I  extended  him  a  most  cordial  invitation  to  visit 
Utica.  As  soon  as  he  accepted  the  invitation,  I  promptly 
issued  a  circular  announcing  that  he  would  speak  in  the 


168  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Institute  chapel  on  a  certain  date.  The  excitement 
throughout  the  community  immediately  became  intense. 
I  could  not  understand  it,  so  I  called  my  trustees  to- 
gether, as  was  my  custom,  to  consult  as  to  Dr.  Washing- 
ton's visit. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  school,  I  had  to 
send  out  three  invitations  before  I  could  get  a  meeting. 
The  fact  is,  I  had  to  go  out  and  almost  compel  them  to 
come  in.  Once  they  were  assembled,  I  put  the  matter  of 
Dr.  Washington's  visit  before  them,  and  they  promptly 
advised  me  that  it  would  be  a  very  unwise  thing  to  have 
him  come  to  Utica;  in  fact,  they  thought  it  would  be  a 
dangerous  thing,  that  Dr.  Washington  could  never  pass 
safely  through  the  streets  of  Utica.  They  delivered  fiery 
addresses,  for  which  many  of  the  members  have  always 
been  noted,  and  ended  up  by  voting  almost  to  a  man  (I 
think  there  were  two  exceptions)  that  we  ask  Dr.  Wash- 
ington not  to  come  to  Utica, — for  his  good  and  for  ours. 

I  then  asked  them  to  answer  two  questions  for  me: 
one,  what  were  their  objections  to  Dr.  Washington's 
coming  to  Utica,  and  the  other,  what  real  harm  could 
come  to  him  if  he  did  visit  Utica.  To  these  questions  I 
could  not  get  a  single  answer;  they  would  only  shake 
their  heads  and  shrug  their  shoulders.  Some  of  them 
finally  notified  me,  as  they  left  the  meeting,  that  I  might 
have  him  come  if  I  wanted  to,  but  that  they  would  not 
attend  the  meeting. 

Although  I  did  not  want  to  take  any  risks  with  Dr. 
Washington,  I  was  determined  to  have  him  visit  Utica. 
Having  been  deserted  by  the  colored  people,  I  now  turned 
my  attention  to  the  white.    I  went  down  into  the  village, 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  169 

cornered  one  of  my  good  white  friends,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  of  the  place,  and  asked  him  for  his 
candid  opinion  and  whatever  advice  he  might  give  as  to 
Dr.  Washington's  visit. 

He  was  very  deliberate,  and  said :  "Holtzclaw,  I  want 
to  see  Booker  and  hear  him  speak,  and  I  am  going  to  hear 
him  while  he  is  in  this  state,  if  I  have  to  travel  two  hun- 
dred miles,  but  I  really  would  not  advise  you  to  have  him 
come,  if  you  have  the  least  idea  that  there  is  any  danger. 
We  are  just  now  experiencing  the  hardships  caused  by 
the  money  panic  of  a  year  or  so  ago,  and  we  don't  know 
but  that  some  crazy,  drunken  fellow,  having  heard  so 
many  things  about  Washington,  might  attempt  to  do 
violence  to  him;  and  that  would  disturb  the  friendly  re- 
lations between  the  races  here  which  everybody  has  been 
working  so  hard  to  cement.  Then,  too,  Booker  might 
say  something  in  his  address  that  would  cause  trouble 
for  you  after  he  is  gone.  I  repeat,  therefore,  that  for 
complete  safety  I  believe  it  would  be  better  not  to  have 
him  come." 

I  said  to  him :  "But  I  have  already  invited  him,  and, 
to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  would  rather  abandon  my  school 
than  withdraw  that  invitation.  I  do  not  care  to  live  in 
a  place  where  Dr.  Washington  cannot  come  with  perfect 
safety.  Besides,  he  is  already  on  his  way  and  will  be 
in  Memphis  to-morrow." 

My  friend  replied :  "Well,  I  think  you  had  better  let 
him  come  under  those  circumstances,  but  I  do  hope  he 
will  be  as  wise  in  his  utterances  as  he  is  credited  with 
being." 

I  confess  things  were  looking  cloudy,  but  I  had  lost 


170  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

none  of  my  determination,  although  I  certainly  had  no 
intention  of  subjecting  Dr.  Washington  to  any  danger. 
I  thanked  this  gentleman  for  his  advice,  then  called  on 
another  leading  white  man.  After  getting  him  back  in 
his  office  behind  closed  doors,  I  put  the  subject  before 
him.  He  seemed  greatly  surprised  that  I  even  thought 
of  such  a  thing  as  Dr.  Washington's  being  injured  in 
Utica,  and  said :  "Let  him  come  right  ahead.  He  will 
be  as  safe  in  Utica  as  he  would  be  in  New  York;"  and  so 
I  made  my  rounds  of  the  leading  men  of  the  city. 

For  fear  that  they  would  not  talk  to  me  as  freely  as 
they  would  among  themselves,  I  sought  the  services  of 
one  of  my  best  white  friends  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
not  look  over  the  town  and  the  neighboring  country  and 
give  me  his  frank  opinion  as  to  Dr.  Washington's  visit. 
He  complied  as  hurriedly  as  possible,  and  when  he  had 
finished  he  told  me  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  dan- 
ger in  the  proposed  trip ;  that  every  man  and  woman  with 
whom  he  had  talked  were  ready  and  eager  to  see  Dr. 
Washington ;  that  I  should  have  him  come  without  doubt. 

So  I  determined  to  let  the  matter  go  through.  I  went 
to  the  city  marshal  and  told  him  of  the  apprehension  of 
the  colored  people,  and  asked  for  his  best  protection  of 
Dr.  Washington.  After  laughing  heartily  at  me,  he  as- 
sured me  that  he  would  be  on  hand  and  that  nothing  in 
the  world  would  happen  to  him.  He  seemed  greatly  as- 
tonished that  I  should  feel  any  doubt. 

I  then  boarded  a  train  and  met  Dr.  Washington  in 
Memphis,  where  I  went  over  the  whole  matter  with  his 
private  secretary,  Mr.  Emmett  J.  Scott,  and  Mr.  Charles 
Banks,  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Mound  Bayou  and  the 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  171 

leader  of  the  party  in  Mississippi.  On  we  came  to  Utica, 
reaching  there  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning.  To  my  sur- 
prise, Utica  had  more  people  in  it  that  day  than  I  have 
ever  seen  there  before  or  since.  For  several  hundred 
yards  the  railroad  track  was  lined  with  people.  The 
white  ladies  themselves  had  come  down  and  lined  up  on 
each  side  of  the  railroad  to  see  Dr.  Washington  as  he 
emerged  from  the  train. 

There  were  several  fine-looking  men  on  the  train, — 
bishops,  elders,  doctors,  and  what  not, — so  one  or  the 
other  was  frequently  pointed  out  as  Dr.  Washington  by 
the  people  in  the  crowd.  One  of  them  would  say :  "There 
he  is  now.  No,  there  is  he  over  there  with  the  big  hat 
on."  At  length,  Dr.  Washington  stepped  from  the  train, 
almost  the  most  unpretentious-looking  man  in  the  crowd. 
The  city  marshal  was  right  on  hand.  Dr.  Washington 
bowed  to  the  ladies  and  to  all  the  crowd,  and  amid  their 
cheers  he  stepped  briskly  toward  his  carriage,  with  the 
marshal  on  one  side  and  me  on  the  other. 

I  was  careful  to  stay  by  his  side,  because  I  had  said  to 
the  colored  people  when  they  were  in  their  highest  pitch 
of  excitement  that  when  he  came  I  would  be  right  by  his 
side,  and  if  any  harm  came,  I  would  meet  it  first;  I 
would  see  to  that. 

One  of  those  same  colored  men  that  had  said  he  would 
not  be  out  that  day  at  all  was  there,  and  was  so  excited 
that  he  jumped  into  the  carriage  while  it  was  going  and 
shook  hands  with  Dr.  Washington.  Amidst  all  this  ex- 
citement, Dr.  Washington  was  perfectly  placid,  and  ap- 
parently not  the  least  disturbed.  All  the  way  to  the 
school  the  road  banks  were  lined  with  people,  and  when 


172  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

we  went  into  the  chapel  where  he  was  to  speak,  nearly  all 
the  leading  white  people  were  among  the  auditors.  Our 
chapel  could  not  hold  a  tenth  of  the  people  that  tried  to 
enter. 

Dr.  Washington  had  scarcely  begun  his  address  before 
he  captured  his  entire  audience,  white  and  black.  They 
forgot  all  about  their  troubles,  and  I  think  they  experi- 
enced brotherly  feeling  there  that  day  such  as  they  had 
never  felt  before.  The  magic  of  his  personality  and  the 
power  of  his  oratory  completely  won  the  hearts  of  all 
the  people  present. 

One  can  scarcely  realize  the  good  that  this  visit  ac- 
complished, though  hundreds  of  people  were  disappointed 
that  they  could  not  enter  the  building  to  hear  him  speak. 
So  keen  was  their  disappointment  that  a  hurried  message 
was  sent  to  me  from  the  white  people  of  the  town,  asking 
if  they  might  not  erect  a  platform  at  the  station  and 
have  him  speak  for  ten  minutes  before  he  left.  This  was 
in  order  to  give  the  white  people  a  better  opportunity  to 
hear  him.  We  were  all  very  sorry  that  Dr.  Washington's 
train  schedule  would  not  permit  him  to  accept  their  invi- 
tation. 

I  have  never  seen  in  all  my  stay  in  Utica  any  stranger 
come  into  the  town  who  received  so  much  attention  as 
Dr.  Washington  did ;  and  it  is  the  fervent  hope  of  all  that 
he  may  find  it  possible  to  come  to  Utica  again. 

In  his  address  Dr.  Washington  made  the  same  impres- 
sion upon  the  minds  of  the  leading  white  people  who 
heard  him  speak  that  he  always  makes  wherever  he 
speaks, — that  is,  that  he  is  a  wise,  conservative,  trust- 
worthy leader.    One  of  the  foremost  white  men  of  Utica 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  173 

said  to  me  the  next  day:  "Holtzclaw,  I  am  glad  that 
you  had  Booker  Washington  come  here.  I  have  heard 
of  him  for  twenty-five  years,  but  this  is  the  first  time  I 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  hear  an  address  by  him.  If 
we  had  enough  men  in  this  country  like  Booker  Wash- 
ington, we  would  be  soon  rid  of  many  of  the  ills  that 
beset  us." 


CHAPTER    XV 

I  have  tried  to  find  out  what  made  the  colored  people 
so  afraid  of  the  white  people,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to 
determine  the  cause,  especially  as  the  white  people,  as  a 
rule,  have  always  acted  most  kindly  toward  the  colored 
people,  so  far  as  I  could  see.  I  am  sure,  however,  that 
much  of  their  fear  was  the  result  of  rumors  of  what 
were  known  as  White  Caps.  This  was  an  organization 
of  white  people  located  principally  in  Lincoln  county,  a 
county  on  the  southern  border  of  our  own,  who  were 
daily,  or  rather  nightly,  terrorizing  the  more  respectable 
Negroes  of  that  county,  causing  many  of  them  to  aban- 
don the  homes  they  had  paid  for  and  leave  the  county 
without  any  compensation  for  their  property  or  any  pro- 
tection for  their  lives.  Not  only  were  these  White  Caps 
operating  in  Lincoln  county,  but  they  occasionally  en- 
gaged in  depredations  in  other  counties.  A  body  of  such 
men  were  seen  passing  through  our  own  town  during  this 
period.  What  their  object  was  I  have  never  been  able 
to  determine,  as  they  passed  through  quietly  and  did  not 
molest  anybody.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  Negroes  of 
our  locality  were  not  so  much  afraid  of  the  white  people 
that  they  came  in  contact  with  as  they  were  afraid  that 
some  action  on  their  part  might  inflame  the  white  people 
and  cause  them  to  form  a  White  Cap  organization.  So 
far  as  I  could  see,  then  and  even  since  then,  this  fear  of 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  175 

the  white  people  in  our  locality  was  wholly  without 
foundation.  Still,  I  sympathized  with  the  fear,  because 
I  knew  of  the  Lincoln  county  White  Cap  organization. 
Governor  Vardaman  himself  and  many  other  white  peo- 
ple in  the  state  recognized  the  danger  of  allowing  an  or- 
ganization of  lawless  men  to  terrorize  the  Negro  popula- 
tion, and  so  took  steps  to  crush  out  the  White  Caps,  and 
this  they  succeeded  in  doing.  If  I  remember  correctly, 
the  Federal  authorities  also  took  part  in  crushing  out  this 
organization,  and  as  a  result  of  these  efforts  many  mem- 
bers of  the  White  Cap  bands  were  arrested  and  prose- 
cuted ;  some  were  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for  long  periods 
and  others  got  off  with  heavy  fines.  The  result  was  that 
we  have  heard  no  more  of  White  Capping  in  any  part  of 
Mississippi. 

On  the  particular  occasion  of  Dr.  Washington's  visit, 
however,  the  fears  seem  to  have  been  caused  by  vague 
newspaper  rumors  of  many  things  that  were  happening 
somewhere  in  the  state.  In  fact,  there  were  one  or  two 
papers  in  the  state, — notably,  one  previously  owned  by 
Governor  (now  United  States  Senator)  Vardaman, — 
that  advised  the  white  people  not  to  attend  Dr.  Washing- 
ton's lecture  in  the  capital  city ;  but  the  white  people  paid 
no  attention  to  the  advice  and  attended  the  lecture  in 
large  numbers,  so  large,  in  fact,  that  the  strain  upon  the 
Coliseum  in  which  he  spoke  proved  too  great  and  the  gal- 
lery that  contained  the  greater  number  of  the  leading 
white  people  came  down  with  a  crash  just  after  Dr. 
Washington  had  finished  his  talk.  Several  people  were 
injured,  one  man  having  several  bones  broken.  Among 
the  most  prominent  of  those  injured  was  the  late  Bishop 


176  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Charles  B.  Galloway,  a  friend  of  Dr.  Washington  and 
his  race,  and  indeed  a  friend  of  everybody. 

One  of  our  methods  that  has  done  a  great  deal  of  good 
has  been  to  publish  in  our  little  paper,  the  Utica  News, 
2l  monthly  letter  to  the  farmers, — a  letter  in  which  we  try 
to  keep  them  abreast  of  the  times  and  to  help  them  in 
various  ways. 

The  following  letter,  which  was  written  at  a  time  when 
the  Mexican  boll-weevil  seemed  destined  to  destroy  the 
cotton  crops  of  the  South,  will  serve  to  give  an  idea  of 
how  we  sought  to  help  the  farmers  during  these  difficult 
times : 

"This  is  the  time  of  year  when  every  farmer  who 
expects  to  succeed  must  begin  to  move  and  make  every 
hour  count.  In  some  sections  farmers  seem  to  be  dazed 
on  account  of  the  appearance  of  the  dreaded  boll- weevil. 
This  is  unnecessary.  There  is  no  need  to  pull  up  stock 
and  branch  and  go  to  other  sections,  for  it  seems  certain 
that  the  boll-weevil  will  continue  until  the  entire  cotton 
section  has  been  visited.  The  sensible  man  will  stand 
his  ground  and  make  the  best  of  the  situation.  It  has 
been  conclusively  proven  by  experiments  made  by  the 
Agricultural  Department  at  Washington  that  cotton  can 
be  raised  in  spite  of  the  boll-weevil.  There  are  some 
regulations,  however,  that  must  be  observed. 

"In  the  first  place,  the  land  on  which  you  expect  to 
plant  cotton  must  be  thoroughly  prepared  and  the  cotton 
must  be  planted  two  or  three  weeks  earlier  than  you  have 
been  accustomed  to  plant,  and  nothing  but  the  best  and 
earliest  varieties  should  be  planted.  Then  the  crop  must 
be  worked  at  shorter  intervals  than  you  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  work  it, — that  is,  it  must  be  pushed  rapidly  up 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  177 

to  maturity.  Meantime,  you  must  not  depend  upon  your 
cotton  crop  entirely.  Plant  plenty  of  corn,  make  not  only 
what  you  need  for  your  own  use,  but  have  some  for  sale. 
Have  all  the  vegetables  and  potatoes  that  you  can  use. 
Have  some  hogs,  some  chickens,  in  other  words,  live  at 
home.  The  man  who  lives  at  home  does  not  care  much 
about  boll-weevils. 

"You  will  find  it  greatly  to  your  advantage  in  making 
this  crop  to  chop  down  all  your  hedges,  chop  around  the 
ends  of  the  rows,  burn  up  the  brush,  dig  up  and  burn  the 
stumps  and  give  the  cotton  a  fair  chance.  The  main  point 
is,  however,  that  you  must  begin  to  work  now,  not  wait 
several  days  later.  If  the  boll-weevil  scare  succeeds 
in  making  you  do  what  you  should  have  been  doing  all 
the  time,  it  will  be  a  blessing  in  disguise. 

"One  thing  we  must  all  remember,  in  connection  with 
this  year,  and  that  is  that  we  cannot  hope  to  go  to  the 
merchants  and  buy  things  on  credit,  as  we  have  been 
doing.  We  should  buy  those  things,  and  those  things 
only,  that  we  are  compelled  to  have.  Fewer  clothes 
should  be  worn ;  one  or  two  pairs  of  shoes  less ;  the  extra 
Sunday  hats  and  fancy  calicoes  should  be  left  off.  Let 
us  buy  only  those  things  that  are  absolutely  necessary 
for  this  year.  If  you  will  follow  these  suggestions,  I 
believe  you  will  have  nothing  to  regret  at  the  end  of  this 
year. 

"William  H.  Holtzclaw." 

In  order  to  understand  the  significance  of  such  a  letter 
as  this,  one  must  know  something  about  the  boll-weevil 
pest.  This  little  insect,  which  made  its  way  over  from 
Mexico  into  the  United  States  by  way  of  Texas,  almost 
paralyzes  the  cotton  industry  wherever  it  goes.    Nothing 


178  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

has  happened  to  the  South  since  the  Civil  War  that  has 
so  affected  the  people  economically  as  this  insect  has 
done.  In  its  ravages,  it  may  be  compared  with  the  gypsy 
moth  of  New  England,  except  that  it  exists  largely  upon 
the  fruit  of  the  cotton  stalk,  and  unless  the  cotton  pro- 
ducer follows  those  improved  methods  of  cultivation  that 
have  been  worked  out  by  experts  of  the  United  States 
government  and  other  agencies,  the  chances  are  that  he 
will  produce  no  cotton  at  all.  Ever  since  the  Civil  War 
the  Negroes  of  the  Mississippi  cotton  belt  have  produced 
one  crop  annually,  and  that  was  cotton.  There  has  been 
very  little  diversification.  Up  to  the  time  the  boll-weevil 
made  its  appearance  they  not  only  did  not  know  how  to 
produce  any  other  crops  besides  cotton,  but  the  majority 
of  them  cared  little  or  nothing  about  other  crops.  After 
the  coming  of  the  boll-weevil  the  man  who  formerly  pro- 
duced thirty  bales  of  cotton  found  that  he  could  produce 
only  five  or  six,  on  the  same  land.  The  white  planters 
who  owned  large  tracts  of  land,  on  which  cotton  had 
been  planted  for  thirty  years,  found  that  these  lands  now 
planted  in  the  old  way  would  in  many  cases  hardly  pro- 
duce sufficient  cotton  to  pay  the  rent.  Hence,  they  were 
unable  to  borrow  money  under  such  conditions  from  the 
local  banks  to  "furnish"  the  Negroes  and  keep  them  try- 
ing to  make  cotton.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  as  soon  as 
the  Negro  could  not  get  "furnished,"  he  lost  confidence 
in  his  landlord,  and  in  his  heart  at  least  began  to  class 
him  with  what  is  usually  called  "po'  white  trash" ;  and  as 
soon  as  an  agent  from  some  more  favored  section  of  the 
country  (I  mean  a  section  where  the  boll-weevil  had  not 
gone)   came  seeking  labor  the  Negroes  were  ready  to 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  179 

join  him  and  run  from  the  boll-weevil,  not  realizing  seem- 
ingly that  the  pest  was  gradually  making  its  way  to  all 
the  sections  where  cotton  grew.  I  have  seen  as  many  as 
a  hundred  wagons,  each  loaded  with  a  separate  family, 
passing  through  our  locality  from  somewhere  south  of 
us,  going  northward  to  escape  the  depredations  of  the 
boll-weevil.  Such  people  only  needed  to  be  taught  to 
stand  firm  and  work  out  their  own  salvation.  In  the 
vicinity  of  this  institution  few  people  have  gone  away  to 
escape  the  weevil.  They  have  remained  here,  planted 
their  crops,  and  worked  under  the  direction  of  the  school ; 
and  as  a  result  they  are  gradually  learning  how  to  pro- 
duce cotton  in  spite  of  the  boll-weevil.  After  five  years 
of  fighting  this  pest,  we  are  about  to  conquer,  the  results 
being  that,  whereas  we  produced  about  one-tenth  of  a 
crop  when  the  boll-weevil  made  its  first  appearance,  at 
the  present  time  this  locality  is  producing  fully  two- 
thirds  of  the  normal  crop. 

Meantime,  our  farmers'  conferences  were  still  doing 
their  work  annually.  At  these  conferences  I  always  de- 
livered an  address  to  the  farmers  assembled,  which,  with 
the  resolutions,  was  published  not  only  in  our  own  paper, 
but  also  in  many  daily  papers  throughout  the  state  of 
Mississippi.  The  following  extracts,  which  were  taken 
from  the  Jackson  Daily  News,  will  give  some  idea  of 
how  I  sought  to  help  the  farmers : 

"February  12. — The  Mississippi  Negro  Farmers'  Con- 
ference met  in  the  main  auditorium  of  the  Utica  Normal 
and  Industrial  Institute  to-day  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M. 
After  preliminary  exercises  Prof.  William  H.  Holtzclaw, 


180  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

president  of  the  conference,  addressed  the  audience.  The 
following  remarks  from  his  address  were  heartily  re- 
ceived : 

"  'Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  We  have  come  together  in 
this  our  sixth  annual  conference  further  to  consider  ways 
and  means  to  better  the  condition  of  the  Negro  farmers 
of  this  state,  and  to  hear,  from  your  own  lips,  of  the 
progress  you  have  made  since  last  we  met.  Constituting 
as  we  do  so  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  population  of  the 
state  of  Mississippi,  our  conduct  is  bound  to  have  a  tre- 
mendous bearing  upon  the  character  of  this  common- 
wealth. 

"  Tn  this  connection,  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  amount  of  crime  set  down  to  the  credit  of  the  Negroes 
of  this  state.  I  have  recently  seen  a  statement  to  the 
effect  that  1,400  Negroes  out  of  a  million  were  in  the 
chain  gangs  of  this  state  during  the  past  year.  Now  I 
think  you  will  agree  with  me  that,  even  after  allowing 
ample  latitude  for  too  ready  apprehension  and  conviction 
and  all  unfairness  that  may  enter  trials,  the  amount  of 
criminality  is  entirely  too  great.  We  must  do  something 
to  change  these  conditions.  I  feel  that  if  we  set  our 
faces  sufficiently  hard  against  crime  it  will  grow  con- 
tinually less.  We  must  show  the  criminal  that  there  is 
no  place  in  our  society  for  him,  that  we  will  tolerate  him 
under  no  circumstances.  We  are  all  eager  to  see  the  day 
when  lynchings  will  be  as  negligible  a  quantity  in  Missis- 
sippi as  in  Massachusetts. 

"  We  can  help  to  bring  about  this  condition  by  our 
absolute  refusal  to  tolerate  crime  in  any  sense  among  us. 
There  is  not  a  state  in  the  Union,  in  my  opinion,  that 
offers  greater  advantages  to  its  Negro  population  than 
Mississippi.    There  is  plenty  of  land  for  sale  all  over  the 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  181 

state  at  reasonable  prices.  Here  is  a  great  opportunity 
for  us  to  plant  ourselves  firmly  in  the  soil  and  make  use- 
ful citizens.  Let  us  strain  ourselves  to  more  than  fulfill 
the  duties  of  citizenship. 

"  'To  complain  of  obstacles  is  one  thing  and  to  sur- 
mount them  is  another.  Our  salvation  here  in  the  South 
is  very  largely  a  matter  of  Christian  intelligence,  thrift, 
industry,  and  morality.  We  must  possess  these  or  we 
must  ultimately  fail. 

"  T  realize  that  we  have  many  things  to  hinder  us,  but 
nothing  has  yet  arisen  to  prevent  us  from  being  truthful, 
honest,  upright,  energetic,  and  moral  men.  Nothing  has 
so  far  arisen  to  prevent  our  acquiring  homes  and  develop- 
ing them  in  the  highest  sense.  I  feel,  therefore,  that  just 
so  long  as  these  things  are,  not  prevented,  nothing  can 
stay  our  progress,  if,  indeed,  there  be  any  that  wish  to 
accomplish  this  ignoble  end.'  " 


CHAPTER    XVI 

Just  after  this  conference  had  closed  Dr.  Henry  E. 
Cobb,  of  New  York  City,  one  of  our  leading  trustees, 
requested  me  to  give  a  full  statement  of  what  had  been 
accomplished  up  to  that  time,  April,  1909;  and  I  wrote 
him  the  following  letter,  which  I  take  the  liberty  to  give 
here,  because  it  sums  up  well  the  work  that  we  had  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  during  the  first  six  years  of  our  labors : 

"My  dear  Dr.  Cobb  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  recent 
date  asking  for  a  statement  of  the  work  of  this  Institu- 
tion, permit  me  to  say  that  although  we  started  here  in  a 
wilderness  six  years  ago,  with  absolutely  no  capital,  with 
no  immediate  friends,  strangers  amidst  strange  surround- 
ings, our  motives  questioned  on  the  one  hand,  and  our 
ability  to  accomplish  our  object  on  the  other,  with  noth- 
ing but  hope  founded  on  faith,  we  have  gone  steadily  for- 
ward in  the  building  up  of  an  industrial  educational  In- 
stitute similar  to  Hampton  and  Tuskegee,  until  to-day 
our  institution  is  among  the  most  successful  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  South. 

"In  all  our  departments, — industrial,  academic,  Bibli- 
cal, night  and  day  school, — we  have  enrolled  five  hundred 
students  this  year,  and  have  employed  twenty-five  teach- 
ers and  officers.  Our  teachers  have  been  educated  at 
some  of  the  best  schools  in  the  country,  North  and  South. 
Although  we  are  careful  not  to  neglect  the  academic 
work,  our  school  is  distinctly  industrial,  and  among  the 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  183 

industries  agriculture  takes  first  rank.  Domestic  science, 
I  believe,  comes  second.  When  I  tell  you  that  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  my  people  in  the  state  of  Mississippi  are  en- 
gaged in  some  form  of  agriculture  you  will  readily  under- 
stand why  we  are  careful  to  give  accurate  training  in  this 
particular  subject.  Other  industries  taught  are  carpentry, 
wheelwrighting,  blacksmithing,  sawmilling,  and  general 
lumber  manufacturing,  brick  laying  and  plastering, 
broommaking,  printing  and  bookbinding,  dairying,  stock- 
raising,  poultry  raising,  sewing  and  dressmaking,  milli- 
nery, cooking,  electrical  engineering,  laundering,  and  gen- 
eral housekeeping.  Some  of  these  industries, — the  saw- 
mill, for  instance, — are  well  equipped  and  are  more  than 
self-supporting,  while  the  majority  of  them  must  still 
come  under  the  'infant  industry'  class. 

"On  the  grounds  proper  there  are  three  large  buildings 
and  eleven  small  ones ;  out  on  the  plantation  there  is  one 
large  building  surrounded  by  thirty  cottages,  farm- 
houses, barns,  and  so  on.  The  farm  proper,  including 
timber  lands,  consists  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
ten  acres.  The  entire  property  is  valued  at  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  there  is  not 
one  cent  encumbrance  on  a  single  dollar's  worth  of  the 
property. 

"But  our  labors  have  not  been  confined  to  the  building 
of  a  material  Institution.  We  have  built  our  Institution, 
as  it  were,  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  We  have  changed 
the  condition  of  things  so  materially  that  it  is  difficult  to 
describe  the  changes  that  have  taken  place.  Six  years 
ago  the  ownership  of  homes  by  my  people  was  almost 
wholly  unknown;  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  Negro  that 
had  a  home  of  his  own  with  more  than  two  rooms,  re- 
gardless of  the  size  of  his  family.     To-day  Negroes  in 


184  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

the  neighborhood  own  more  than  three  thousand  acres 
of  land,  and  many  of  them  have  erected  comfortable  cot- 
tages with  from  three  to  five  rooms,  having  some  pictures 
on  the  walls  and  some  books  on  the  shelves  as  well  as 
some  flowers  in  the  yard. 

"You  will  better  appreciate  the  value  of  the  changes 
when  I  tell  you  that  six  years  ago  some  of  the  people 
were  so  vicious  that  all  idea  of  evening  services  at  the 
various  churches  had  to  be  abandoned  by  the  older  people 
in  order  to  keep  their  sons  and  daughters  out  of  prisons 
and  chain  gangs.  When  a  gathering  was  attempted  at 
night  it  usually  resulted  in  a  free-for-all  fight,  in  which 
revolvers  and  razors  were  used  indiscriminately,  to  the 
injury  of  some  of  the  congregation  and  the  imprisonment 
of  others. 

"It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  all  this  has  nearly  passed 
away  at  Utica.  In  practically  all  the  churches  the  ser- 
vices are  orderly  and  are  held  night  or  day,  at  the  will 
of  the  worshipers.  No  'blind  tiger'  whiskey  is  sold  about 
the  churches  now;  and  many  of  the  congregations  com- 
pare favorably  with  audiences  I  have  seen  in  more  en- 
lightened sections  of  the  country. 

"Six  years  ago  there  were  men  and  women  living  to- 
gether as  man  and  wife  and  rearing  children,  without  the 
semblance  of  a  legal  tie,  but  I  am  glad  to  say  that  public 
sentiment  has  so  changed  that  it  has  compelled  the  dis- 
continuance of  these  illegal  and  degrading  practices.  All 
the  persons  living  together  illegally  were  made  to  marry 
by  due  forms  of  law,  or  leave  town,  and  they  are  now 
happier.  The  former  state  of  things  could  not  exist  here 
now.  Not  only  would  the  colored  people  themselves  re- 
fuse to  tolerate  it,  but  the  white  officers  of  the  law  would 
not  permit  it. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  185 

"All  this  measures,  though  very  inaccurately,  the  work 
we  have  helped  to  accomplish  during  these  six  years,  out- 
side of  what  might  be  expected  of  an  ordinary  school. 
Now,  just  a  word  about  how  we  have  done  it. 

"We  organized  ourselves  into  what  we  called  'exten- 
sion workers,'  then  we  divided  the  local  territory  into  as 
many  divisions  as  there  were  teachers  in  the  faculty, 
assigning  a  given  division  to  each  worker.  All  the  time 
that  was  not  spent  in  the  actual  work  of  the  school  was 
spent  among  the  people.  Once  a  month  the  teachers 
would  meet  in  our  chapel  and  compare  notes,  and  once 
a  year  all  the  people  in  the  various  divisions  were  brought 
together  for  a  conference  and  for  general  instructions; 
we  learned  of  them,  and  they  learned  of  us.  The  work 
has  been  enlarged  until  this  year  the  whole  county  of 
Hinds,  a  section  of  territory  equal  to  the  state  of  Rhode 
Island,  is  under  the  practical  moral  charge  of  the  twenty- 
five  teachers  of  our  school.  We  shall  further  enlarge  the 
scope  of  the  work  from  year  to  year. 

"The  results  of  this  extension  work  have  impressed 
every  one  of  our  friends  that  has  visited  the  school. 
When  Dr.  G.  S.  Dickerman,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  sec- 
retary of  the  John  F.  Slater  Fund  Trustees,  visited  us 
about  a  year  ago,  his  parting  remark  to  me  at  the  little 
station  was :  'What  impresses  me  most  about  your  work 
is,  not  what  you  have  done  at  the  school,  but  what  you 
have  done  in  this  community.' 

"Dr.  Bradley  Gilman,  of  Boston,  formerly  for  many 
years  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Unity  at  Springfield, 
Mass.,  who  paid  us  a  visit  last  October  at  the  time  Dr. 
Booker  T.  Washington  was  here,  has  written  me  the  fol- 
lowing letter: 

"  'My  dear  Mr.  Holtzclaw  :    Among  many  incidents 


1 86  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

of  my  recent  trip  through  the  South  with  Dr.  Washington 
nothing  is  more  firmly  or  agreeably  stamped  upon  my 
memory  than  is  my  visit  to  your  school  at  Utica.  What 
I  saw  there  gave  me  every  assurance  of  your  success. 
What  I  said  to  you  there  I  repeat  now:  namely,  that 
such  good  work  and  results  as  you  show  at  Utica, — you 
being  a  graduate  of  Tuskegee, — is  a  veritable  guarantee 
of  the  wisdom  and  worth  of  the  Tuskegee  method. 

"  'I  hope  that  you  will  go  on  with  great  courage  and 
that  you  will  find  ample  support  for  your  work,  which 
richly  deserves  support.  The  solution  of  the  Negro  prob- 
lem by  true  education  is  the  only  solution,  and  my  visit 
to  the  South  made  me  more  hopeful  of  results  than  I 
was  before/ 

"It  may  also  interest  you  to  note  what  Dr.  Washington 
himself  thinks  of  my  efforts.     He  says : 

"  Tt  was  my  privilege  to  visit  Utica,  Mississippi,  and 
to  see  something  of  the  work  of  the  Utica  Normal  and 
Industrial  Institute,  of  which  Mr.  William  H.  Holtzclaw 
is  Principal,  in  October,  1908.  I  cannot  speak  too  cor- 
dially of  the  effective  way  in  which  Mr.  Holtzclaw  and 
his  co-workers  are  attacking  the  problems  presented  to 
them.  The  school  is  located  in  a  section  where  it  has  an 
opportunity  to  do  effective  work  among  the  Negro  people. 

"  'Mr.  Holtzclaw  is  deserving  of  the  encouragement 
and  support  of  all  who  may  become  interested  in  the  work 
he  is  doing  at  Utica.' 

"William  Holtzclaw, 

"Principal." 


It  has  always  been  my  policy  to  keep  the  school  out  of 
debt  and  the  property  unencumbered.    At  the  end  of  the 


Executive  Council  of  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute. — 
Left  to  right,  top  row:  Miss  C.  J.  Lee,  Assistant  Dean;  D.  W.  L.  Davis, 
Superintendent  of  Industries;  P.  Brooks  Peters,  Dean,  Academic  Department. 
Second  row:  Foster  G.  Smith,  Private  Secretary  to  the  Principal;  William 
H.  Holtzclaw,  Principal;  F.  Lawrence  Anderson,  Treasurer.  Bottom  row: 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Holtzclaw,  Superintendent  of  Girls'  Industries;  Miss  Addie 
Hendley,  Dean,  Girls'  Division 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  187 

school  year,  if  I  did  not  have  quite  sufficient  funds  to 
meet  all  our  obligations,  I  have  appealed  to  Negro  friends 
and  then  to  the  whites,  and  have  resorted  to  many  devices 
for  raising  money  among  my  own  people,  in  order  to  keep 
the  Institution  out  of  debt. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

Some  time  ago,  accompanied  by  more  than  a  dozen 
of  my  co-workers,  I  went  into  the  country  to  learn  what 
was  the  condition  of  the  Negroes  in  that  section,  and 
found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a  progressive  colony  of 
them, — a  colony  that  owned  altogether  about  five  thou- 
sand acres.  And  this  is  in  the  state  whose  former  Gov- 
ernor declared  publicly  that  the  Negroes  were  going 
backward,  and  that  they  were  incapable  of  assimilating 
the  white  man's  civilization. 

Just  before  I  reached  the  colony  I  stopped  at  a  store 
owned  by  a  white  man.  Only  one  white  man,  the  pro- 
prietor, was  at  the  store,  and  he  was  sitting  on  the  gal- 
lery, chatting  with  about  twenty  Negroes.  While  get- 
ting some  refreshments  I  found  out  that  the  relation  be- 
tween the  races  was  of  the  most  cordial  sort.  And  when 
I  reached  the  Negro  colony  and  talked  with  them,  I 
found  that  they  all  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  their 
white  neighbors. 

To  ride  up  and  down  seven  miles  of  territory  owned 
by  Negroes,  to  look  into  their  beaming  faces,  and  to  re- 
ceive their  warm  handshake  is  a  satisfaction  that  no  one 
can  know  who  has  not  lived  among  and  grown  up  with 
the  people.  The  success  of  this  particular  community  is 
due  to  a  Negro  teacher  who  settled  here  some  years  ago. 
Some  of  the  Negroes  own  as  much  as  seven  hundred 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  189 

acres  of  land,  and  are  replacing  the  old  one-room  cabin 
with  neat,  modern  cottages.  The  model  for  these  little 
homes  is  the  one  occupied  by  the  teacher  himself.  At  his 
house  we  had  supper,  which  was  prepared  directly  from 
his  gardens,  barnyards,  and  fields,  the  cooking  and  prep- 
aration of  the  food  being  all  that  the  most  fastidious 
could  desire.  After  more  than  twenty  persons  had  par- 
taken of  this  hospitality  there  seemed  to  be  enough  for 
twenty  more.  Where  people  live  on  the  products  of  their 
own  fields,  gardens,  and  barnyards,  food  is  seldom  scarce. 

Near  by  were  school  buildings,  which  had  been  erected 
by  this  Negro  teacher,  with  the  assistance  of  his  neigh- 
bors. Everything  was  apparently  neat  and  trim.  The 
test  of  a  school,  however,  is  its  backyard,  so  I  withdrew 
from  the  crowd  and  went  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  Every- 
thing was  in  excellent  condition;  even  the  horse  lot  and 
cow  barn  were  clean  and  sanitary. 

In  addition  to  the  school,  there  was  a  little  store,  a  place 
where  the  teacher  supplied  the  neighbors  when  they  did 
not  have  time  to  go  to  the  white  man's  large  store  up  the 
road.  Into  his  school  this  teacher  is  trying  to  introduce 
what  we  call  "industrial  features,"  such  as  cooking  and 
sewing,  and  some  of  the  good  neighbors  are  like  they 
used  to  be  at  Utica, — they  "don't  want  their  children 
taught  to  work  for  white  folks." 

Valuable  work  is  being  done  through  the  indirect  in- 
fluence of  our  school  by  some  of  its  graduates. 

A  few  years  ago  there  appeared  at  my  office  three  little 
girls,  with  their  brother,  all  knocking  for  admittance. 
Presently  their  father  appeared.  He  had  brought  them 
through  the  country.     All  covered  with  dust,  he  ap- 


190  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

proached  and  asked  if  I  would  arrange  some  way  where- 
by his  children  could  help  to  educate  themselves;  he 
had  a  large  family  and  found  it  practically  impossible  to 
send  them  all  to  school  unless  they  could  work  to  pay  at 
least  a  part  of  their  expenses.  He  was  a  local  preacher, 
and  was  what  you  would  call  a  "good  liver"  as  a  farmer. 

I  admitted  the  four  young  people,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  he  would  pay  what  he  could  and  that  I  would 
permit  them  to  work  out  the  remainder.  After  five  years 
of  work  and  study  at  this  Institution,  they  all  four  were 
ready  to  be  graduated  when  one  of  them  died.  The  other 
two  girls,  Ada  and  Minnie,  with  their  brother,  Fred 
Morrison,  returned  to  their  home  at  Learned,  and  began 
"community  work,"  as  they  had  seen  it  carried  on  here. 
They  had,  the  last  time  I  visited  them,  the  best  school 
community  to  be  found  in  their  county.  The  County 
Superintendent  of  that  county  states  that  it  is  the  first 
model  school  for  Negroes  ever  constructed  in  his  county. 
What  is  more,  these  young  people,  together  with  their 
father,  so  worked  on  the  hearts  and  minds  of  their  little 
community  that  they  succeeded  in  inducing  the  people 
themselves,  together  with  their  white  neighbors,  to  raise 
sufficient  funds  to  build  this  schoolhouse  without  outside 
assistance. 

It  is  a  splendid  rural  schoolhouse,  with  three  good 
rooms,  two  of  them  used  for  teaching  the  ordinary  day 
pupils  and  the  third  for  teaching  cooking  and  sewing,  the 
"domestic  arts."  In  it  they  have  a  cook  stove,  a  sewing- 
machine,  and  some  other  simple  apparatus.  Outside  the 
boys  are  taught  trucking  and  farming  on  a  little  plot  of 
land  belonging  to  the  school.    The  two  young  women  do 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  191 

the  inside  work,  together  with  the  academic  teaching, 
while  the  brother  teaches  the  boys  farming  and  black- 
smithing.  He  has  a  portable  blacksmith  shop,  which  he 
himself  erected  on  a  little  one-horse  wagon.  After  he 
has  used  this  shop  for  a  given  number  of  days  each  week 
at  the  little  school  at  Learned  he  then  travels  through  the 
country  as  an  agent  of  the  Jeanes  Fund,  visiting  all  the 
Negro  schools  in  the  county,  teaching  them  blacksmithing 
and  farming,  trying  to  imbue  them  with  the  idea  of 
progress  so  that  they  may  succeed  in  their  school  com- 
munity just  as  he  has  done  in  his.  It  is  this  kind  of  work, 
done  by  the  young  men  and  women  whom  we  shall  be 
able  to  send  out  from  time  to  time  from  various  schools, 
that  will  bring  about  the  salvation  of  our  people  in  the 
rural  districts. 

One  other  incident  will,  perhaps,  emphasize  the  point. 
One  day  I  was  walking  out  to  our  plantation  along  a  lone- 
some country  road  when  I  was  overtaken  by  a  farm 
wagon  the  occupants  of  which  were  a  man  and  his  wife 
and  his  mother-in-law.  Upon  their  invitation,  I  got  up 
to  ride  with  them.  The  wife,  a  more  than  ordinarily  in- 
telligent woman,  started  the  conversation. 

"  Tessor,"  she  said,  "this  is  my  old  man.  Ever  since 
I  heard  that  lecture  of  yours  down  yonder  at  Zion,  two 
years  ago,  we's  been  a-living  better.  My  old  man  was 
not  there,  but  I  went  home  and  told  him  how  you  said 
we  could  live,  and  we  started  out  to  live  that  way.  We 
began  raising  all  sorts  of  vegetables,  and  chickens  and 
eggs,  so  that  we  now  have  plenty  of  everything  to  eat  at 
home  and  something  to  sell  every  week.  The  flour  you 
see  on  this  wagon  right  now  is  bought  with  some  chickens 


192  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

and  eggs  I  have  just  sold.  Me  and  the  old  man  makes 
the  crops  and  Mamma  raises  the  chickens  and  gathers 
up  the  eggs.  I  sho'  is  glad  you  spoke  there  that  day. 
Everybody  in  that  neighborhood  is  living  better;  they 
all  has  chickens  and  eggs." 

This  shows,  at  least,  that  opinion  is  changing  among 
the  masses  of  the  people.  They  are  learning  to  move  up- 
ward and  forward,  to  measure  themselves  by  higher 
standards,  and  to  hope  for  better  things.  To  bring  about 
this  condition  is  the  first  step, — the  pioneer  work. 

But  our  greatest  work  is  among  those  who  come  to  us 
as  students.  For  instance,  a  girl  came  to  school  not  long 
ago  who  did  not  have  a  change  of  clothes  nor  a  cent  of 
money.  She  brought  her  mother's  only  milch  cow,  which 
she  offered  in  payment  for  her  schooling.  The  cow  really 
did  not  seem  to  be  worth  the  feed  that  was  necessary  to 
bring  her  to  the  point  of  usefulness,  but  in  order  to  en- 
courage the  young  woman  we  accepted  the  cow  and  al- 
lowed her  to  proceed  with  her  education,  working  as  she 
went. 

This  young  woman  is  typical  of  many  who  enter  the 
Institution  under  adverse  circumstances  and  afterward 
become  useful  in  the  communities  to  which  they  return. 
I  have  in  mind  a  young  woman  who  entered  the  Institu- 
tion several  years  ago,  simply  because  she  had  nowhere 
else  to  go ;  she  had  no  father  and  she  had  been  abandoned 
by  her  mother.  She  finished  the  course  of  study  and  has 
since  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  energetic  workers  that 
we  have  sent  out. 

At  the  present  time  she  is  engaged  as  a  teacher,  in  the 
charge  of  girls,  in  the  Robert  Hunger  ford  Industrial 


Corene  Haney,  offering  her  mother's  only  cow  for  her 
entrance  fee  and  schooling  at  the  Utica 
Normal  and   Industrial    Institute 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  193 

School,  Eatonville,  Florida.  The  following  paper  writ- 
ten by  her  at  the  time  of  her  graduation  will  be  of  interest 
because  of  the  light  it  sheds  upon  the  whole  subject: 

"Memory  carries  me  back  six  years  ago,  when  I  was 
but  a  little  ragged,  illiterate  girl,  roaming  the  fields  and 
public  roads  of  Utica,  with  no  idea  of  ever  becoming  a 
boarding-student  of  any  institution.  Being  a  poor  girl, 
without  a  father's  aid,  I  had  to  struggle  very  hard  for  a 
living.  Mother  had  to  work  away  from  home  the  greater 
part  of  the  time,  hence  I  received  little  or  no  fireside 
training. 

"The  church  services  were  limited, — preaching  once  a 
month,  and  Sunday  school  every  Sunday.  Very  often, 
however,  I  could  not  attend  these  services,  because  of  my 
mother's  absence,  bad  weather,  or  a  long  distance  which 
rendered  it  unsafe  for  me  to  go  alone. 

"Fortunately,  most  of  my  associates  were  school  girls, 
and  my  being  so  far  behind  them  inspired  me  to  want 
an  education. 

"My  opportunity  for  obtaining  an  education  in  those 
early  days  was  indeed  meager.  The  rural  school,  three  or 
four  miles  from  home,  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  at- 
tend school  in  the  winter,  for  at  that  time  only  a  few 
months  were  taught,  and  those  in  the  heart  of  the  winter. 
I  was  too  small  at  the  time  to  walk  such  a  distance  in  bad 
weather,  and  when  I  became  large  enough  to  attend 
school,  regardless  of  weather,  I  had  to  work  for  my  sup- 
port. Mother,  having  other  children  to  support,  was  not 
able  to  aid  me  in  any  way  toward  getting  an  education. 
What  little  opportunity  I  had  for  learning,  therefore, 
came  from  what  my  older  sister  taught  me  in  odd  mo- 
ments.   I  remember  quite  well  that  the  first  books  I  ever 


194  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

owned  were  given  to  me  by  a  white  lady  for  sweeping 
her  yard.  They  were  too  high  for  me  at  the  time ;  how- 
ever, by  my  sister's  help,  I  managed  to  get  some  benefit 
from  them. 

'The  year  1902  was  my  last  year  on  the  home  farm;  it 
was  the  hardest  and  most  discouraging  year  of  my  life. 
Just  as  I  was  about  to  give  up  all,  Mr.  Holtzclaw  came 
to  Utica  and  took  charge  of  the  St.  Peter's  public  school, 
which  was  the  beginning  of  the  Utica  Normal  and  In- 
dustrial Institute.  I  first  started  as  a  day  student.  A  few 
weeks  afterwards  the  principal,  having  an  occasion  to  go 
North,  offered  me  the  great  opportunity  of  staying  with 
his  wife  while  he  was  away.  She,  seeing  my  condition, 
became  interested  in  me  at  once,  and  when  the  time  came 
for  me  to  return  home  she  offered  me  an  opportunity  to 
educate  myself,  providing  I  would  do  whatever  was  as- 
signed to  me  to  do  with  all  my  heart.  I  eagerly  grasped 
the  opportunity,  for  I  was  indeed  anxious  for  an  educa- 
tion. 

"In  the  beginning,  my  work  seemed  hard  on  account 
of  my  not  knowing  how  to  do  it  properly.  I  knew  little 
or  nothing  about  house  work,  therefore  I  became  discour- 
aged. But,  my  teachers  being  kind  and  patient  with  me, 
and  by  my  taking  in  and  carrying  out  the  lessons  taught 
me  from  day  to  day,  it  was  not  long  before  I  found 
pleasure  in  doing  my  work,  and  it  has  resulted  in  good 
for  me. 

"To-day  my  mind  in  retrospect  sees  those  days  I 
thought  so  dark.  Behind  me  is  a  struggle  of  six  years ; 
before  me  a  world  of  duties.  I  do  not  regret  a  moment 
of  my  time  spent  at  Utica.  I  am  proud  of  the  Institution 
and  what  it  has  done  for  me.  Had  it  not  been  for  our 
noble  Principal,  who  left  his  comfortable  home  to  come 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  195 

to  this  most  needy  section,  I  would  still  be  groping  in 
utter  darkness.  By  making  the  best  of  my  time  and  tal- 
ent I  have  been  able  to  receive  certificates  from  four  dif- 
ferent departments  of  the  Institution,  which  means  that 
I  can  do  the  work  intelligently. 

"My  future  life  shall  be  devoted  to  my  people,  to  whom 
in  a  small  way  I  shall  be  what  Utica  has  been  to  me. 

"I  find  no  words  to  express  my  gratitude  to  the  Utica 
Institute.  It  has  been  to  me  what  Lincoln  was  to  the 
slaves.  He  freed  their  bodies,  and  his  life  teaches  us  true 
freedom  of  the  soul.  Utica  Institute  has  freed  my  body, 
for  I  am  no  more  confined  to  one  line  of  work,  but  I  can, 
with  intelligence,  cook,  wash,  iron,  sew,  and  keep  house. 
It  has  freed  my  soul  by  giving  me  a  moral  education. 

"I  am  ever  grateful  to  our  Principal  for  that  whole- 
some instruction  he  has  given  me  year  after  year.  Dear 
to  my  memory  are  those  words  that  fell  from  his  lips 
once  upon  a  time  as  I  sat  under  the  oak :  'No  man  has 
within  him  the  power  to  keep  another  permanently  down. 
With  a  strong  and  healthy  body,  will  power  and  deter- 
mination, all  obstacles  can  be  trampled  under  foot  as  one 
moves  towards  the  goal.'  I  am  indebted  to  him  for  the 
everlasting  principles  of  right  which  he  taught  and  for 
the  foundation  of  success  which  he  tried  so  earnestly  to 
impress  upon  me. 

"Theodosia  Skelton." 

While  this  educational  work  was  progressing  we  were 
still  carrying  on  the  local  work  to  the  best  of  our  ability, 
extending  the  scope  of  the  Institution  and  trying  to  make 
it  more  and  more  substantial.  We  had  begun  the  erec- 
tion of  the  largest  building  we  had  ever  attempted, — 
Booker  T.  Washington  Hall, — but  just  as  it  was  about 


196  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

two-thirds  completed,  June  9,  1910,  we  were  visited  by  a 
severe  cyclone  that  completely  destroyed  this  building 
together  with  several  others.  As  it  was  just  after  the 
closing  of  school,  the  buildings  had  been  vacated  and  no 
lives  were  lost. 

But  we  were  left  practically  without  shelter.  When 
the  storm  occurred  it  was  about  bedtime,  and  two  min- 
isters had  come  to  spend  the  night  with  me.  They  had 
just  retired,  both  sleeping  in  the  same  room.  When  the 
storm  was  at  its  height  I  heard  buildings  falling,  and  our 
house  was  shaking  so  violently  that  I  thought  I  had  better 
go  in  and  see  how  my  guests  were  faring.  I  found  them 
both  down  on  their  knees  praying.  One  of  them,  how- 
ever, got  up  at  intervals,  looked  out  of  the  window  to  see 
how  the  storm  was  progressing,  and  then  kneeled  again 
to  pray.  Before  the  storm  had  ceased,  one  of  the  teach- 
ers came  to  my  window,  and  knocking  excitedly,  said  that 
several  of  the  buildings  had  been  destroyed.  I  knew  be- 
fore he  told  me  what  had  happened,  but  I  did  not  have 
the  courage  to  face  the  desolation,  and  when  he  assured 
me  that  no  lives  had  been  lost  I  directed  him  to  go  back  to 
his  room  and  remain  until  morning. 

By  daybreak  I  had  made  my  plans  for  rebuilding, — 
plans  that  extended  over  two  years  of  work. 

Going  to  work  vigorously,  I  made  a  strenuous  cam- 
paign, and  as  a  result,  aided  as  I  was  by  many  of  my 
friends  both  at  home  and  in  the  East,  I  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing within  ninety  days  fourteen  thousand  dollars.  While 
I  was  busy  raising  this  money  Mr.  D.  W.  L.  Davis,  our 
faithful  and  efficient  superintendent  of  industries,  was 
on  the  spot,  and  he  superintended  all  the  building  and 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  197 

repairing.  He  succeeded  so  well  with  the  work  that  when 
the  trustees  met  four  months  later  to  inspect  the  work 
we  were  doing  they  felt  constrained  to  give  Mr.  Davis 
special  commendation.  The  Institute  owes  a  great  deal 
to  the  devoted  teachers  that  have  been  connected  with 
the  school  from  time  to  time. 

At  one  time,  in  the  early  history  of  the  school,  while  I 
was  away  from  home  trying  to  raise  funds,  I  received 
this  note  from  one  of  the  teachers, — a  woman:  "Dear 
Principal:  I  regret  to  have  to  bother  you,  but  I  am 
actually  almost  barefooted  and  cannot  go  from  one  build- 
ing to  another.  If  you  can  send  me  enough  money  to 
get  a  pair  of  shoes,  I  will  not  bother  you  again  soon." 

Mr.  D.  W.  L.  Davis,  an  expert  blacksmith,  stuck  by 
his  post  from  year  to  year,  on  a  salary  so  small  that  when 
he  was  called  to  neighboring  towns  on  Saturdays  to  do 
horseshoeing  he  used  to  bring  back,  as  a  result  of  his 
work,  more  than  half  the  amount  of  his  monthly  wages. 
This  money  he  turned  into  the  school's  treasury.  With- 
out such  devoted  helpers  as  these  were  the  school  could 
not  have  gone  forward, — indeed,  could  scarcely  have 
continued  to  exist. 

While  speaking  of  those  who  have  helped  me  I  must 
not  forget  the  service  of  my  good  wife,  Mary  Ella,  with- 
out whose  help  I  should  most  certainly  have  lost  heart 
and  failed. 

Born  in  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama,  in  a  city,  and  having 
gone  from  there  while  yet  a  girl  to  Tuskegee  Institute, 
where  she  remained  until  after  she  was  grown,  she  never 
knew  anything  about  country  life  until  she  began  work 
at  Snow  Hill,  Alabama,  the  same  school  in  which  I 


198  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

worked  for  four  years.  I  was  greatly  impressed  even 
then  with  the  way  in  which  she  adapted  herself  to  coun- 
try life,  but  it  was  after  we  had  married  and  had  entered 
upon  our  work  at  Utica  that  I  began  to  understand  her 
character,  her  willingness  to  make  sacrifices  in  order  that 
good  might  be  accomplished.  In  all  these  years  that  I 
have  lived  and  worked  with  her  I  have  come  to  know 
that  there  are  few  sacrifices  she  would  not  make,  if  by  so 
doing  she  could  further  the  interests  of  our  people. 

For  instance :  in  the  early  history  of  this  school,  when 
we  were  just  starting  the  school  and  were  both  strangers, 
it  became  often  necessary  for  me  to  leave  her  for  three 
and  four  months  at  a  time, — a  stranger  among  strangers, 
— but  she  always  bore  it  with  a  fortitude  that  nothing 
seemed  ever  to  disturb,  except  when  I  told  her,  as  I  often 
did,  that  she  seemed  to  be  happier  when  I  was  away  from 
home  than  when  I  was  there. 

As  the  work  has  grown  from  year  to  year  greater  re- 
sponsibilities have  attached  to  it,  but  these  responsibili- 
ties, until  within  recent  years,  have  always  devolved  upon 
her  shoulders  in  my  absence,  and  even  now  those  whom 
I  leave  in  charge  of  the  school  when  I  am  away  depend 
very  largely  upon  her  judgment  in  matters  pertaining  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  school. 

From  the  very  first  she  has  been  a  teacher  in  the  Insti- 
tution, having  had  charge  for  the  past  few  years  of  the 
girls'  industries  as  director.  She  has  her  office  in  the 
girls'  building  and  maintains  regular  office  hours  the  year 
round,  where  all  girls  have  free  access  to  her  when  neces- 
sary. This  has  lifted  from  me  all  along  a  great  burden, 
for  no  problems  ever  arise  among  the  girls  that  cannot 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  199 

be  settled  without  my  taking  a  greater  part  than  a  mere 
consultation  with  my  wife. 

Although  I  am  given  most  of  the  credit  for  the  work 
that  has  been  done  here,  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  the 
greater  portion  of  this  credit  should  go  to  Mary  Ella,  for 
it  seems  to  me  that  she  has  been  truly  the  power  behind 
the  throne,  and  sometimes  all  around  the  throne. 

There  are  many  other  consecrated  workers  connected 
with  this  Institution  that  might  be  mentioned.  There 
are  two  at  least  that  must  be  mentioned,  the  Misses  Clara 
J.  and  Mary  Lee,  first  cousins,  the  two  young  women  who 
were  with  me  when  I  first  opened  a  public  school  in  this 
section  of  the  country  and  who  have  been  with  me  ever 
since,  honored  teachers  and  efficient  workers.  The  latter 
is  now  Mrs.  Harris,  but  she  is  still  actively  engaged  in 
the  work,  being  the  widow  of  William  H.  Harris,  who 
was  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter  as  having  sacrificed 
his  life  in  the  interest  of  this  work  in  its  early  history. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

For  many  years  the  Southern  people,  living  in  one  of 
the  richest  sections  of  our  country,  did  not  develop  their 
agricultural  interests  as  the  farmers  in  the  middle  West 
and  other  sections  have  done,  but  in  recent  years  the 
entire  South  has  been  waking  up  in  this  respect;  all  at 
once  it  has  seemed  to  realize  what  it  has  been  losing; 
consequently  it  is  now  showing  an  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  its  agricultural  resources  that  is  hardly  equalled 
anywhere  else  in  the  country.  But  the  greater  part  of 
the  interest  thus  far  shown  has  been  largely  for  the  bene- 
fit of  white  farmers.  Especially  has  this  been  true  of 
whatever  funds  have  been  expended  in  the  interest  of 
agricultural  education.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
determine  there  has  been  no  particular  disposition  to 
deprive  the  Negro  of  any  agricultural  rights  and  priv- 
ileges, but  the  deprivation  came  through  neglect.  The 
legislators  and  public  servants  in  various  places  seemed 
all  at  once  to  realize  how  much  the  South  has  been  losing 
by  not  giving  sufficient  attention  to  agriculture,  and  they 
began  to  try  to  remedy  the  evil  all  at  one  stroke.  In  these 
rapid  improvements  the  interest  of  the  Negro  is  too  often 
entirely  overlooked.  For  instance,  at  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  legislature  of  Mississippi  a  law  was  enacted  mak- 
ing it  possible  to  establish  agricultural  high  schools  in 
every  county  in  the  state,  but  for  whites  only.    This  law 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  201 

was  unconstitutional,  as  under  the  reconstruction  consti- 
tution white  and  colored  men  were  to  receive  like  treat- 
ment. I  thought  that  older  and  more  experienced  men  in 
the  state  should  take  the  lead  in  such  matters,  but  no  one 
came  forward. 

Meantime,  the  schools  for  whites  only  were  being  es- 
tablished here  and  there  in  various  counties,  and  all  the 
people,  both  white  and  black,  were  being  taxed  for  their 
support.  I  had  watched  all -this  very  carefully  and  had 
been  trying  to  find  some  way  by  which  this  neglect  of  the 
Negro  could  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  proper 
authorities;  but  as  the  white  people  of  my  own  county 
had  not  attempted  to  establish  such  a  school,  I  had  no 
direct  way  of  reaching  the  matter. 

At  length,  in  one  of  the  counties  a  Negro  refused  to 
pay  his  taxes.  A  suit  was  brought  and  the  case  soon 
reached  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state,  where  the  school 
law  was  declared  unconstitutional ;  so  those  counties  that 
had  established  schools  had  to  cease  operations.  Then 
the  legislature  met  again,  and  the  air  was  full  of  rumors 
to  the  effect  that  a  way  would  be  found  within  the  law 
to  continue  the  establishment  of  these  white  schools  with- 
out making  similar  provision  for  Negroes.  But  the  ma- 
jority of  the  white  people  of  the  state  did  not  sympathize 
with  these  rumors. 

With  a  sincere  wish  to  see  the  white  schools  continued, 
but  with  a  still  stronger  desire  to  see  the  Negro  youth  of 
the  state  enjoy  the  same  privilege,  on  January  1,  19 10,  I 
addressed  the  following  open  letter,  in  conjunction  with 
and  with  the  approval  of  leading  white  and  colored  men, 
to  the  legislature  on  the  subject : 


202  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

"To  the  Hon.  C.  E.  Franklin  and  the  Honorable 
General  Assembly,  of  the  state  of  Mississippi,  Jackson, 
Mississippi. 

"Sirs :  At  the  meeting  of  the  last  general  assembly  a 
bill  introduced  by  Senator  Franklin,  establishing  Agri- 
cultural High  Schools  in  the  state  of  Mississippi,  was 
introduced  and  favorably  passed  upon. 

"It  was  afterward  discovered  that  this  bill  inadver- 
tently made  provision  for  the  establishment  of  agricul- 
tural schools  for  whites  only.  The  right-thinking  masses 
of  the  people  immediately  concluded  that  this  was  an 
oversight  which  was  not  intended  by  the  author  or  sanc- 
tioned by  public  opinion.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  mat- 
ter could  be  brought  before  the  supreme  court,  the  law 
was  declared  unconstitutional,  in  accordance  with  the  will 
of  the  white  people.  Naturally,  the  black  people  of  the 
state  rejoiced  at  this  finding,  for  it  proved  conclusively 
the  opinion  for  which  the  better  class  of  white  people,  as 
well  as  the  better  class  of  Negroes,  have  contended  for 
many  years :  namely,  that  there  is  no  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  better  class  of  white  people  in  the  state  of  Missis- 
sippi to  lift  themselves  up  by  casting  the  Negroes  down. 

"But  we  now  have  further  proof  (although  further 
proof  is  unnecessary)  in  the  new  agricultural  bill,  which 
I  learn  from  the  Jackson  Daily  News  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Senator  Franklin,  for  introduction. 

"We  might  as  well  look  matters  squarely  in  the  face, 
and  speak  the  truth  without  reserve.  It  is  the  opinion 
in  sections  outside  of  the  state  of  Mississippi  that  the 
Negroes  in  this  state  do  not  get  a  square  deal  from  their 
white  fellow-citizens.  That,  being  excluded  from  the 
ballot,  and  having  no  direct  representation  at  the  capital, 
and  being,  therefore,  compelled  to  take  whatever  is  given 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  203 

them,  they  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  deprived  of  much  that 
they  by  right  ought  to  have.  When  I  say  this  opinion  is 
pretty  general  I  speak  from  experience, — experience 
gained  from  personal  contact  with  individuals  in  many 
of  the  states  from  Mississippi  to  Maine. 

"I  think  I  may  venture  the  assertion  that  the  feeling  is 
not  so  general  among  leading  Negroes  in  Mississippi  as 
it  is  among  members  of  your  own  race  in  other  states. 
But  whatever  may  be  the  facts  in  the  case,  this  new  agri- 
cultural bill  should  be  enough  to  remove  any  doubt  from 
all  sincere  seekers  after  the  truth.  For  although  no 
Negro,  perhaps,  has  had  any  influence  whatever  upon  any 
one  who  has  had  to  do  with  the  making  of  the  present 
bill,  its  provisions,  nevertheless,  are  such  as  to  convince 
any  right-thinking  Negro  that  the  best  white  people  of 
this  state  have  his  interests  at  heart,  as  well  as  their  own. 

"When  the  masses  of  the  Negroes  of  this  state  were 
deprived  of  the  ballot,  and  representation,  there  were 
many  honest  men  and  women  who  felt  that  this  was  a 
direct  blow  at  the  Negroes'  liberty,  and  some  even  ven- 
tured to  think  that  it  was  an  effort  to  re-enslave  them,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  statesmen  of  that  day  fought 
hard  to  convince  the  public  that  they  bore  no  ill-will 
toward  the  black  men,  and  would  not  re-enslave  them  if 
they  could. 

"Mississippi  was  not  allowed,  at  this  time,  the  benefit 
of  the  doubt  as  to  her  intentions,  as  she  stood  before  the 
bar  of  public  opinion;  but  was  held  to  be  guilty  of  an 
effort  to  re-enslave,  as  it  were,  until  she  should  prove 
herself  innocent.  But  notwithstanding  many  indiscre- 
tions of  certain  types  of  politicians,  I  think  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  this  bill  which,  I  understand,  is  brought  into 
being  by  some  of  the  best  people  of  Mississippi,  and 


204  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

which  is  to  be  introduced  by  Senator  Franklin,  himself 
one  of  the  bravest  of  leaders,  should  be  final  proof  that 
Mississippi  is  seeking  the  good  of  all  her  people,  black  as 
well  as  white,  poor  as  well  as  rich. 

"But  what  if,  after  being  introduced,  such  a  bill  should 
fail  to  pass  the  Legislature?  I  do  not  think  I  speak 
rashly  when  I  say  that  the  failure  to  enact  such  a  measure 
as  provided,  simply  because  it  provides  agricultural  edu- 
cation for  all  the  people  alike,  would  be  almost  a  calam- 
ity. For  many  years  thereafter  we  should  stand  con- 
demned before  the  bar  of  public  opinion.  It  is  for  these 
reasons  that  I  have  ventured  to  address  you  on  behalf  of 
the  Negroes  of  this  state,  to  humbly  beg  your  influence 
toward  the  enactment  of  this  agricultural  high  school  bill. 

"Mississippi's  great  treasures  are  all  buried  beneath  her 
rich  soil;  with  a  million  Negroes,  untrained  in  the  very 
methods  which  this  bill  seeks  to  provide,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  her  white  citizens  to  extract  this  great  treas- 
ure so  long  as  they  tried  to  carry  this  load  of  Negro 
ignorance.  It  would  be  a  veritable  millstone  about  their 
necks, — a  millstone  that  must  remain  until  it  has  been 
loosed  by  such  a  measure  as  is  now  before  us. 

"I  believe  you  will  find  it  easy  to  excuse  the  liberty  I 
may  seem  to  assume  in  thus  addressing  you,  when  you 
remember  that  this  means  of  petition  is  the  only  way  my 
race  has  of  making  its  wants  known  to  you.  The  laws 
are  made  by  you,  my  race  having  absolutely  no  voice  in 
either  the  making  or  the  administration  of  them.  We 
cannot  appeal  from  them,  but  must  accept  them,  whatever 
we  may  think  of  them.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  appeal 
for  your  support  of  this  latest  measure  which  has  for  its 
object  the  enlightenment  of  a  million  black  citizens  who 
are  virtually  at  your  mercy. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  205 

"Although  we  are  not  represented  in  your  general  as- 
sembly, we  are  with  you  in  every  act,  in  every  scheme 
you  may  devise  for  the  enlightenment  of  our  farmer 
classes,  and  for  the  development  of  our  state.  Believing 
firmly  as  I  do  in  your  interest  in  all  the  people  of  the 
state  of  Mississippi,  and  believing  that  the  interests  of 
both  whites  and  blacks  are  conserved  in  this  bill,  I  again 
summon  the  courage  to  beg  your  support  for  the  bill  as 
lastly  drawn. 

"Very  sincerely  yours, 

"Wm.  H.  Holtzclaw, 

"Principal  the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute, 
Utica,  Miss." 

I  do  not  know  what  effect  this  letter  had,  or  indeed 
whether  it  had  any  effect  at  all,  but  I  do  know  that  a  bill 
was  passed  within  a  few  days  authorizing  the  establish- 
ment of  agricultural  high  schools  in  every  county  in  the 
state  for  both  Negroes  and  whites.  In  such  efforts  as 
this  letter  to  the  Legislature  represents  I  have  not  worked 
alone  but  in  cooperation  with  many  of  the  good  white 
people  who  have  been  interested  in  my  race  and  also  with 
many  of  the  leading  Negroes  of  the  state,  nearly  all  of 
whom  are  anxious  about  the  progress  of  the  Negro  farm- 
ers of  the  state. 

So  far  as  I  know,  very  little  progress  has  been  made 
toward  establishing  such  schools  as  I  have  just  men- 
tioned for  colored  people,  but  that  is  not  the  fault  of  the 
law. 

One  other  incident  I  may  mention  that  will  show  how 
I  have  tried  to  help  in  other  directions  is  in  connection 


206  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

with  the  lynching  evil.  These  efforts  took  various  forms, 
one  of  them  being  the  following  letter,  which  I  wrote  to 
the  Governor  of  the  state  at  a  time  when  lynching  had 
grown  to  such  an  extent  in  various  parts  of  the  South 
that  a  mob  of  young  Negroes  had  caught  the  spirit  and 
had  lynched  one  of  our  own  race  in  the  Mississippi  Delta. 
The  strange  thing  about  it,  so  the  papers  reported,  was 
that  certain  white  people  applauded  these  Negroes  while 
they  did  the  lynching.  I  felt  this  disgrace  upon  our  state 
so  keenly  that  I  submitted  the  following  letter  to  the 
Governor : 

"In  these  trying  days  for  my  race,  when  so  many  of 
them  are  being  put  to  death  without  the  semblance  of  a 
trial  and  when  our  state  is  listed  so  prominently  among 
the  states  that  have  recently  suffered  from  the  evils  of 
lynch  law,  it  is  difficult  for  one  deeply  interested  in  it* 
and  in  all  that  pertains  to  its  progress,  and  that  of  the 
South  generally,  not  to  raise  a  voice  of  protest. 

"News  comes  to  us  of  persons  lynched  to  the  extent  of 
one  a  day  for  ten  days,  and  to  make  it  worse,  eight  lynch- 
ings  happened  on  the  same  day. 

"I  am  greatly  interested  in  this  question,  because  it  is 
altogether  likely  that  the  lynching  spirit  which  has  hith- 
erto been  shown  by  whites  only  may  take  hold  on  the 
Negroes  after  a  while  and  manifest  itself  in  ways  that 
will  shock  this  nation. 

"It  is  the  spirit  of  lawlessness.  The  same  spirit  that 
swings  up  a  poor,  ignorant,  degraded  Negro  in  the  South 
and  riddles  his  body  with  bullets  is  the  identical  spirit 
that  dynamites  a  house  in  other  sections,  and  occasionally 
assassinates  a  high  official.    It  is  anarchy,  under  present 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  207 

conditions  in  disguise,  and  anarchy  is  chaos.  Committing 
more  crimes  cannot  be  a  cure  for  crime. 

"I  appeal  to  you,  my  dear  Governor, — not  on  behalf  of 
those  who  have  suffered  so  directly  from  mob  violence, 
but  on  behalf  of  the  law-abiding  Negroes  who  by  sug- 
gestion may  in  the  end  be  led  to  follow  this  deplorable 
example  of  murder  to  satisfy  some  real  or  fancied  injury, 
— I  appeal  to  you  to  use  your  great  influence  to  check 
mob  violence  amongst  us. 

"Dispatches  tell  us  that  only  the  other  day  a  mob  of 
Negroes  lynched  one  of  their  own  race  in  Merigold,  while 
they  were  applauded  by  white  men.  It  does  not  need  a 
prophet  to  tell  where  such  actions  will  ultimately  lead.  It 
is  an  easy  step  from  lynching  a  Negro  while  being  ap- 
plauded by  white  men  to  murdering  a  white  man  while 
being  applauded  by  Negroes. 

"I  take  the  same  position  in  regard  to  this  lynching  by 
•Negroes  in  Shelby  that  I  take  in  regard  to  all  lynchings, 
— that  it  is  absolutely  unjustifiable  under  all  circum- 
stances, is  a  relic  of  barbarism,  and  ought  not  to  be  tol- 
erated in  a  civilized  country.  It  is  vain  for  civilized  men 
to  try  to  justify  so  barbarous  a  practice  as  that  of  taking 
human  life  without  some  process  of  law. 

"Here  in  the  South  white  men  make  the  laws,  they  in- 
terpret the  laws,  and  they  should  enforce  the  law  to  the 
last  letter,  not  override  it.  All  the  machinery  of  the  gov- 
ernment is  in  their  hands ;  they  can  destroy  or  defend,  and 
the  black  man  can  say  nothing  but  look  on,  and  it  mat- 
ters not  what  may  be  his  opinion  of  the  white  man's  sense 
of  justice.  Every  time  you  make  a  law  and  fail  to  abide 
by  it  so  long  as  it  is  on  the  statute  books  you  have  done 
just  that  much  to  undermine  the  structure  of  civilized 
government. 


208  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

"People  who  resort  to  mob  violence  as  a  cure  for  any- 
evil  overlook  the  fact  that  ignorance  is  at  the  bottom  of 
every  crime  that  provokes  the  mob  spirit.  A  few  hun- 
dreds of  us,  realizing  that  fact,  are  working  day  and  night 
to  wipe  out  ignorance  and,  consequently,  crime  from 
among  us. 

"We  deplore  the  existence  of  crime  among  our  people, 
but  we  have  faith  that  it  can  be  overcome  by  intelligent 
training  in  industry,  morality,  and  Christianity.  When 
every  Negro  is  engaged  in  some  useful  and  congenial 
occupation,  crime  will  be  reduced  to  the  minimum.  I 
beseech  you,  therefore,  to  open  the  schoolhouse  door  to 
every  Negro  child,  as  much  for  the  sake  of  the  future 
of  your  own  people  as  for  mine.  If  you  will  lend  your 
great  influence  to  the  work  of  helping  us  to  better  the 
condition  of  our  people,  I  pledge  you  the  hearty  efforts  of 
ten  thousand  educated  Negroes  in  this  state  who  will  see 
to  it  (so  far  as  they  can)  that  crime  is  wiped  out  and 
that  there  shall  neither  be  excuse  nor  occasion  for  the 
mob. 

"I  was  born  in  the  South ;  have  lived  here  and  rendered 
whatever  service  I  could  toward  its  development  and 
progress.  I  am  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to 
its  welfare.  I  would  not  speak  or  write  a  single  word 
save  for  the  purpose  of  helping  it  forward,  and  I  am 
writing  you  this  letter  because  I  know  that  your  influence 
in  this  state  and  throughout  the  country  is  great,  and  I 
feel  that  a  word  from  you  at  this  time  would  count  tre- 
mendously in  the  direction  of  peace  and  prosperity  in  our 
beloved  Southland. 

"William  H.  Holtzclaw, 

"Utica,  Miss." 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  209 

It  is  probably  not  generally  known  outside  of  Missis- 
sippi that  we  have  a  class  of  white  people  here  who  are 
as  much  opposed  to  lynching  and  other  forms  of  evil  as 
are  the  people  in  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  The  fol- 
lowing letter,  which  I  received  from  the  Governor  of 
Mississippi,  is  to  the  point  in  this  connection : 

"Mr.  W.  H.  Holtzclaw, 

"Utica,  Mississippi: 
"I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant  in 
reference  to  enforcement  of  law  and  opposition  to  lynch 
law  and  all  forms  of  crime.  In  all  of  this  you  have  my 
most  hearty  concurrence.  I  have  done,  and  will  continue 
to  do,  everything  in  my  power  to  contribute  to  the  en- 
forcement of  law,  and  to  the  punishment  of  all  who 
offend.  I  do  not  know  where  the  eight  lynchings  occurred 
of  which  you  write,  nor  had  I  before  heard  of  the  lynch- 
ing of  a  Negro  by  Negroes  at  Merigold.  I  should  be 
glad  to  receive  some  data  on  this  point,  and  will  bring 
that  and  all  other  lynchings  in  this  state  to  the  attention 
of  the  courts,  with  the  view  of  having  the  offenders  pun- 
ished. I  have  everywhere  said,  when  speaking  of  the 
subject,  that  the  people  are  in  a  sad  condition  when  they 
look  upon  laws  as  something  to  use  when  it  suits  them 
and  to  defy  or  evade  when  it  does  not  suit  them,  for  laws 
of  every  kind  should  be  equally  and  impartially  enforced 
against  every  offender,  and  all  should  receive  equal  pro- 
tection of  the  laws.  I  have  heard  of  the  industrial  work 
in  which  you  are  engaged,  and  am  glad  to  know  that  you 
are  also  stressing  the  strict  enforcement  and  observance 
of  law.  "Yours  truly, 

"E.  F.  Noel, 

"Governor." 


210  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

I  may  add  here  that  this  determination  on  the  part  of 
Governor  Noel  is  typical  of  nearly  every  governor  that 
Mississippi  has  had  in  the  past  twenty  years  or  more. 
The  white  people  who  wish  to  see  their  state  rid  of  this 
evil  welcome  help,  if  it  has  weight,  even  when  it  comes 
from  Negroes. 

I  sent  the  Governor  clippings  from  various  papers 
telling  of  the  Merigold  lynching,  and  received  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

"Mr.  W.  H.  Holtzclaw,  Principal, 
"Utica,  Miss. 
"Sir:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  19th  inst. 
I  will  take  up  the  matter  with  the  officers  and  do  what 
I  can  toward  vindicating  the  law  in  regard  to  each  of  the 
cases  you  have  mentioned,  and  I  intended  doing  it  before 
I  heard  from  you  as  to  the  Chunkey  case.  I  have  no  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  other  case,  except  through 
you. 

"E.  F.  Noel, 

"Governor." 

In  my  efforts  to  help  the  people  I  have  always  had  the 
encouragement  of  the  best  white  people,  not  only  in  Utica 
but  wherever  I  have  been.  It  is  the  impression  in  many 
places  that  white  people  are  not  interested  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  Negro.  This  may  be  true  in  some  respects, 
but  it  is  not  true  enough  to  be  made  a  sweeping  state- 
ment ;  for  I  have  observed  that  the  white  man  in  Missis- 
sippi wants  to  see  education  count  for  something  tangible, 
and  whenever  he  can  see  that  education  means  something 
to  his  home,  to  his  community,  and  to  the  progress  of  his 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  211 

state  as  well  as  to  the  Negro,  he  is  usually  found  lending 
assistance  to  that  sort  of  education. 

For  instance,  one  day  I  was  booked  to  deliver  an  ad- 
dress to  the  colored  people  at  the  little  town  of  St.  Elmo, 
in  Claiborne  county,  Mississippi, — a  county  which  has 
all  its  public  schools  come  together  annually  for  public 
exhibition,  graduation  exercises,  and  so  on.  The  meet- 
ings are  convened  at  different  points  in  the  county  each 
year,  and  this  year  it  was  to  be  at  St.  Elmo.  When  my 
train  rolled  up  to  the  station  early  in  the  morning  I  was 
greatly  surprised  to  see  that  the  congregation  up  to  that 
time  was  composed  of  the  white  people  almost  entirely, 
and  what  is  more,  these  white  people  were  very  busy  pre- 
paring the  stage  on  which  the  Negro  students  were  that 
day  to  receive  their  certificates  of  graduation.  They 
were  not  only  building  a  spacious  stage  with  the  lumber 
that  they  had  furnished,  but  were  decorating  that  stage 
with  various  decorations,  including  red,  white,  and  blue, 
and  with  a  profusion  of  United  States  flags,  which  hung 
like  a  crimson  cloud  in  the  distance. 

I  ventured  to  ask  one  white  man  why  was  all  this  in- 
terest being  manifested  by  the  white  people  when  the 
Negroes  themselves  seemed  so  disinterested.  The  answer 
was  that  the  white  people  gained  quite  as  much  from 
these  general  gatherings  as  the  Negroes,  and  for  that 
reason  the  various  towns  were  eager  to  have  the  gather- 
ings. Whenever  education,  educators,  and  educational 
processes  can  produce  something  that  white  men  want, 
they  favor  the  education  of  the  Negro  just  exactly  as 
other  men  do. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

The  founding  and  maintaining  of  an  industrial  and 
literary  institution  as  a  center  of  influence  in  a  neglected 
section  of  the  country  has  been  my  aim  ever  since  I  left 
school.  It  seems  fitting,  therefore,  that  some  summary 
of  the  results  of  my  efforts  should  be  given  here. 

In  the  New  York  Independent  of  February  22,  1912, 
Mr.  William  Pickens,  Professor  of  Latin  in  Talladega 
College,  has  an  article  entitled  "Utica,"  which  seems  to 
me  to  serve  so  well  as  a  summary  that  I  feel  justified  in 
giving  herewith  liberal  extracts  from  it.  Mr.  Pickens 
says: 

"A  thing  happened  in  Jackson  in  the  latter  part  of 
April,  191 1,  which  caused  the  people  of  that  city  and  of 
many  other  parts  of  the  State  to  run  their  fingers  over 
the  map  in  search  of  Utica.  This  incident  leads  back 
through  a  chain  of  recollections  to  the  first  causes  which 
made  it  possible, — first  the  incident  and  then  the  ante- 
cedent history. 

"A  Negro  club  in  Jackson  decided  to  promote  an  ora- 
torical contest  among  the  various  Negro  institutions  of 
the  State.  The  contest  was  held  in  Jackson  last  April, 
and  there  were  offered  a  first,  a  second,  and  a  third  prize. 
There  were  representatives  from  the  various  colleges, — 
Jackson  College,  Alcorn  College,  Tougaloo  University, 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  213 

Rust  University,  and  others, — and  among  them  was  rep- 
resented only  one  ' Normal  and  Industrial  Institute/  that 
of  Utica.  After  the  Utica  orator  had  spoken,  the  insti- 
tute band  struck  up  a  lively  air  amid  the  wildest  applause. 
But,  band  or  no  band,  the  audience  was  thundering  its 
verdict  in  favor  of  the  clear  superiority  of  that  Utica  ora- 
tion. The  judges  agreed  with  the  audience,  and  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  was 
awarded  the  first  prize  and  a  fitly  inscribed  gold  medal. 
And  what  is  more,  this  Utica  orator  is  a  little,  ordinary- 
looking,  country  black  girl. 

"On  the  following  week  I  was  on  my  way  to  deliver 
the  commencement  address  at  this  Institute,  and,  hearing 
in  Meridian  of  the  contest,  I  made  the  very  natural  re- 
mark that  it  would  be  hard  for  a  judge  to  vote  against 
one  girl  if  she  did  at  all  well.  But  doubt  vanished  from 
my  mind  when  I  heard  the  oration  itself  repeated  at  the 
Commencement  exercises.  It  was  clear,  convincing,  and 
in  both  rhetoric  and  matter  it  was  of  the  superior  sort, 
and  was  delivered  with  the  naturalness,  the  enthusiasm, 
and  the  spontaneity  which  characterize  the  birth  of 
thought  and  dispel  all  doubt  as  to  its  originality. 

"The  faith,  the  enthusiasm,  and  the  pluck  which  car- 
ried this  little  Black  Belt  heroine  to  success  is  character- 
istic of  the  work  of  which  she  is  the  immediate  product. 
Eight  years  ago,  William  H.  Holtzclaw,  a  graduate  of 
Tuskegee,  after  three  repeated  failures  to  found  a  school, 
being  aroused  to  a  fourth  effort  by  the  words  of  some 
book  as  the  Scotchman  was  encouraged  by  the  persever- 
ance of  a  spider,  finally  succeeded  in  starting  a  'normal 
and  industrial'  school  with  one  teacher  and  twenty  pupils, 
one  mile  from  Utica, — just  thirty  miles  from  Major 
Vardaman  and  scarcely  a  longer  distance  from  Congress- 


214  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

man  Williams.  He  has  now  more  teachers  than  he  had 
pupils  at  first,  and  the  number  of  pupils  has  more  than 
squared  itself.  The  Negro  population  of  this  section 
greatly  preponderates. 

"At  the  original  site  of  the  school  only  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  could  be  purchased,  which  soon  proved  to 
be  very  inadequate  for  the  school's  development.  With 
characteristic  pluck  the  principal  decided  to  move  the 
school  to  a  site  where  land  could  be  bought.  This  was 
six  miles  from  the  original  site,  five  miles  beyond  the 
town  in  another  direction.  In  the  summer  of  19 10  the 
frame  buildings  were  torn  down,  moved,  and  put  together 
again  on  the  new  site,  and  students  and  teachers  have  put 
so  much  work  into  laying  off  and  beautifying  the  new 
location  that  the  stranger  would  not  take  it  for  less  than 
one  year  old.  In  recognition  of  such  pluck,  friends  in  the 
North  furnished  $25,000  to  purchase  1,600  acres  of  land. 
It  was  a  great  task  to  accomplish  so  large  a  moving  in 
one  summer,  and  the  difficulty  was  increased  by  having 
the  largest  dormitory  blown  to  the  ground  when  it  was 
about  two-thirds  reconstructed  on  the  new  site. 

"I  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
work  of  young  Negroes.  These  twenty-five  teachers,  in 
charge  of  nearly  500  students,  are  practically  boys  and 
girls  themselves,  recent  graduates  of  Tuskegee,  of  Amer- 
ican Missionary  Association  schools,  and  of  various 
smaller  schools.  The  young  Negroes  are  ordinarily  re- 
garded as  an  appalling  problem  for  the  South,  but  when 
they  are  seen  in  a  magnificently  useful  work  such  as  this 
at  Utica  one  gets  the  idea  that  if  the  problem  is  given 
opportunity  and  time  it  will  solve  itself.  The  new  life 
brought  by  the  invasion  of  these  young  educated  Negroes 
has  so  vitalized  the  community  that  the  Negro  farmers 


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THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  215 

have  acquired  thousands  of  acres  of  land  in  the  last  half 
dozen  years. 

"Another  usual  representation  is  that  between  the 
young  Negro  and  the  white  South  there  is  an  especially 
bitter  antagonism.  I  doubt  the  truth  of  that  as  a  general 
statement,  but,  if  it  be  the  rule  anywhere  else,  it  is  cer- 
tainly contradicted  at  Utica,  Miss.  I  have  seen  many 
Negro  schools  of  this  class  and  similarly  situated  in  the 
South,  but  I  have  never  seen  one  in  the  success  of  which 
the  white  people  of  the  community  were  more  interested. 
Many  white  citizens  in  the  town  of  Utica  are  contributors 
to  this  Negro  school,  some  of  them  offering  annual  prizes 
to  stimulate  industry,  scholarship,  and  manhood  among 
the  students.  One  business  man  gives  annually  a  gold 
watch  and  chain  worth  $65  as  a  prize,  with  no  other  con- 
dition than  that  the  faculty  shall  vote  it  to  'the  most 
manly  young  man  of  the  school.'  That  is  a  thing  to  con- 
template :  a  white  man  in  the  state  of  Mississippi, — where 
the  idea  of  the  Negro's  being  a  man  has  for  a  decade 
been  most  vigorously  and  most  eloquently  attacked, — that 
a  white  man  in  such  a  community  is  offering  a  valuable 
prize  to  call  young  black  men  to  manhood.  And  this 
man's  name  is  not  printed  by  the  newspapers  nor  his 
deed  advertised;  unless  we  go  all  the  way  to  Mississippi 
and  talk  to  black  folk  there,  we  should  not  learn  that  such 
a  man  exists  in  that  state.  On  April  26  two  young  white 
men,  scarcely  out  of  their  twenties,  as  members  of  the 
trustee  board  of  this  independent  Negro  school,  were 
seated  with  the  Negro  trustees  and  farmers,  giving  and 
taking  counsel  as  to  the  best  means  of  advancing  the  in- 
terests of  the  institution — and  somewhere  else  in  Missis- 
sippi the  newspapers  were  advertising  a  white  man  be- 
cause he  had  said  that  Negro  education  is  a  mistake. 


216  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Why  does  the  newspaper  do  this  ?  The  probable  explana- 
tion reminds  me  of  a  bit  of  history  I  have  learned  about 
the  famous  Senator  of  a  Southern  State  who  has  made 
much  money  and  acquired  much  notoriety  by  his  attacks 
upon  the  Negro,  especially  in  the  North.  He  was  once 
asked  by  a  Negro  friend  of  his,  who  was  raised  with  him 
from  childhood  and  whom  the  white  man  evidently 
loved:  'Senator,  how  is  it  that  you  are  so  affectionate 
and  so  kind  to  me  personally  and  yet  say  such  awful 
things  about  my  people  ?'  The  chuckling  big  Senator,  in 
true  antebellum  fashion,  slapped  his  Negro  friend  on  the 
back  and  said:  'Boy,  there's  money  in  it;  the  Yankees 
like  to  hear  it,  boy.  There's  money  in  it.'  And  then  he 
related  how  hard  he  had  to  work  in  his  senatorial  capacity 
to  earn  $8,000  a  year,  but  how  one  spectacular  anti-Negro 
speech,  delivered  for  a  few  weeks  through  the  North, 
would  bring  him  $25,000  and  no  end  of  publicity. 

"It  encourages  the  heart  of  a  man  to  see  the  strong 
and  ambitious  Black  Belt  children  that  attend  this  school. 
Their  commencement  program  was  odd,  but  interesting. 
They  delivered  orations  and  exhibited  various  manual 
arts  from  the  same  platform,  many  of  the  latter  taking 
place  simultaneously,  to  the  great  entertainment  of  the 
audience.  Two  girls  made  a  hat  from  start  to  finish; 
another  cut  out  from  the  bolt  of  calico,  sewed,  and  fin- 
ished a  girl's  waist,  while  the  audience  looked  on;  iron 
was  forged  and  welded,  a  horse  was  brought  onto  the 
platform  and  neatly  and  quickly  shod  by  two  boys, 
clothes  were  washed  and  a  'farmer's  dinner'  was  cooked ; 
a  chicken  was  killed  and  cooked  'scientifically,'  as  the 
young  woman  explained  who  performed  that  part,  and 
then  four  big  farmers  and  their  wives  were  called  to  take 
seats  at  a  table  on  the  platform,  to  show  how  to  serve  a 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  217 

dinner,  and  that  chicken  and  the  rest  of  the  food  was  just 
as  scientifically  eaten.  One  little  black  girl,  who  was 
helping  to  cook  this  dinner,  like  a  true  farmer's  wife, 
led  the  whole  vast  congregation  in  plantation  songs  while 
she  worked.  She  led  in  the  solo  parts,  and  while  the  audi- 
ence repeated  the  chorus  she  deftly  kneaded  dough  or  cut 
the  biscuits  or  opened  the  steaming  oven.  A  race  that  can 
smile  at  adversities  and  season  its  simple  dinners  with  a 
song  will  be  'mighty  hard'  to  kill.  Their  literary  per- 
formances were  encouraging  to  see;  often  crude,  but  al- 
ways prophetic. 

"These  Black  Belt  children  are  of  strong  bodies  and 
quick  intellects.  They  are  ambitious  of  attainment,  proud 
of  their  opportunities,  and  exceedingly  proud  of  their 
Negro  teachers.  I  learned  from  one  young  man  how 
narrowly  he  escaped  receiving  this  year's  prize  for  'the 
most  manly  young  man'  and  what  a  confident  determina- 
tion he  has  to  merit  it  next  year. 

"A  conviction  has  taken  me,  after  much  observation  of 
the  kind,  that  Negro  students  under  Negro  teachers,  espe- 
cially teachers  of  the  younger  generation,  seem  in  all  their 
performances,  both  physical  and  intellectual,  to  display  an 
exhilarating  freedom  of  body  and  soul.  There  was  a 
naturalness  and  spontaneity  in  all  that  these  boys  and 
girls  did. 

"With  what  enthusiasm  the  impartial  historian  of  the 
future  will  scan  the  records  of  these  pioneer  efforts  of 
young  black  men!  When  he  comes  across  an  example 
like  this  one  at  Utica  he  will  fairly  gloat  over  the  ma- 
terial. The  personal  sacrifice  which  many  of  these  young 
builders  have  suffered  simply  cannot  be  told.  The  ma- 
terial rewards  for  Negro  educational  work  in  the  South 
are  exceedingly  poor.     But  this  poverty  serves  one  good 


218  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

purpose ;  it  weeds  out  all  save  those  who  do  the  work  for 
love  and  who  find  life  in  the  work  itself." 

In  the  foregoing  article  Mr.  Pickens  has  shown  how 
Utica  Institute, — which  has  been  struggling  along  quietly, 
though  earnestly,  for  a  dozen  years, — is  constantly  being 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Mississippi  by 
the  ability  of  some  of  its  students  in  some  sort  of  contest. 

Very  recently  another  incident  occurred  which  brought 
the  school  to  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Mississippi, 
both  white  and  black,  in  a  way  that  it  had  never  been 
before.  It  was  the  occasion  of  the  State  Fair  in  No- 
vember, 19 1 3.  For  the  first  time  the  Fair  management, 
all  white  business  men,  decided  that  they  would  set  aside 
two  of  the  ten  days  of  the  Fair  to  be  known  as  Negro 
days,  and  that  Negroes  should  be  given  an  opportunity  to 
show  the  public  what  they  were  doing  in  Mississippi  along 
agricultural  and  mechanical  lines,  as  well  as  educational. 
They  especially  appealed  to  the  Negro  schools  of  the  state 
to  demonstrate  their  worth.  All  the  leading  schools  of 
the  state  took  part  and  put  on  excellent  exhibits. 

Utica  again  was  brought  to  the  front  by  the  character 
of  its  exhibit  and  by  the  work  of  its  students  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Fair.  It  had  on  the  fair  grounds  the  largest 
and  most  comprehensive  exhibit  of  any  colored  school, 
and  it  won  all  the  first  prizes  offered  to  schools, — money, 
medals,  badges, — and  all  the  second  prizes  except  one, 
which  went  to  the  State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege. 

A  dramatic  contest  between  pupils  of  the  various 
schools  was  also  a  feature  of  the  week.    This  was  won  by 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  219 

the  Utica  Institute.  And  in  the  oratorical  contest,  which 
was  held  at  the  same  time,  Utica  won  the  second  prize. 

The  stock  raisers  of  the  state  were  very  much  sur- 
prised to  find  that  the  pigs  exhibited  by  the  Utica  Insti- 
tute were  superior  to  all  the  others, — the  largest  one  on 
exhibition,  weighing  840  pounds,  took  first  prize  and 
championship.  The  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  and  other  live 
stock  from  the  Institute  all  took  first  prizes. 

The  following  extract  from  the  Jackson  Daily  News, 
written  by  one  of  its  reporters,  will  give  a  clear  idea  of 
the  exhibit  with  which  this  Institution  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  the  minds  of  the  people : 

"The  exhibits  of  chief  interest  (in  the  Negro  division) 
of  course  are  those  of  their  schools ;  that  from  the  Utica 
Normal  school  with  its  560  students,  almost  all  of  whom 
are  largely  self-supporting,  is  a  revelation.  This  school 
was  established  ten  years  ago  by  President  Holtzclaw, 
and  has  been  maintained  wholly  by  his  efforts  and  by  the 
gifts  of  the  people.  It  is  run  at  an  annual  cost  of  about 
$30,000  and  each  year  is  better  training  the  young  men 
and  women  for  their  place  in  life. 

"  'Book  learning'  of  course  counts  there  for  its  full 
value,  but  it  is  in  the  practical  work  of  the  farm  and  home 
that  they  excel. 

"Educated  in  the  Tuskegee  school  of  Booker  Washing- 
ton, President  Holtzclaw  is  certainly  a  worthy  disciple  of 
his  teacher,  and  is  striving  to  do  here  what  he  can  toward 
building  up  another  Tuskegee  Institute;  and  he  is  suc- 
ceeding marvelously  well.  The  products  shown  here  were 
all  grown  on  the  school  farm,  and  this  year  they  put  up 
2,100  gallons  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  500  of  which  were 


220  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

in  this  exhibit.  Six  thousand  pounds  of  corn  and  4,000 
pounds  of  sweet  potatoes  were  used  in  building  these 
front  walls  and  in  making  the  display,  and  miles  and 
miles  of  pea-vine  hay  was  brought  up  to  add  to  the  ex- 
hibit. 

"Vegetables,  fruits,  and  so  on,  are  raised  here  of  the 
best  quality,  and  among  other  products  of  the  place  is  the 
excellent  broom  corn.  On  the  place  they  have  a  broom 
factory,  making  their  handles  and  likewise  the  brooms 
there,  which  are  of  excellent  quality. 

"Well-made  shoes,  excellent  garments  of  every  style, 
beautifully  designed  fancy  work,  and  all  the  dainties 
known  to  the  most  exacting  palate  are  displayed  here, 
with  furniture  of  the  best  grade,  all  made  by  the  students 
of  our  native  woods. 

"There  is  shown  a  bed,  which  the  boys  made;  a  mat- 
tress, which  the  girls  made ;  and  they  had  raised  the  cot- 
ton with  which  it  was  stuffed  and  the  geese  from  which 
they  had  picked  the  feathers  that  filled  the  pillows;  and 
the  sheets,  comforts,  and  quilts  all  were  made  right  there 
by  the  girls ;  thus  demonstrating  to  the  students  that  they 
can  make  their  things  at  home,  if  they  desire." 

My  present  life  is  that  of  a  teacher  who  finds  very 
little  time  to  teach,  as  it  takes  nearly  all  my  time  and 
thought  to  raise  the  forty  thousand  dollars  annually  that 
is  required  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Utica  Normal 
and  Industrial  Institute.  I  have  to  be  away  from  the 
school  in  search  of  funds  a  little  more  than  a  third  of 
each  year. 

When  I  am  at  the  school  I  rise  in  the  morning  at  6 
o'clock  (or  seven,  according  to  the  time  I  retire),  and, 
unless  there  is  urgent  work  to  be  done  at  the  office,  I  go 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  221 

on  horseback  to  all  the  different  departments;  then  I  go 
for  a  long  ride  over  the  plantation,  to  see  the  boys  at 
their  work.  I  return  to  breakfast  at  8  o'clock,  and  at 
8 : 40  I  am  in  my  office,  where  I  remain  until  noon.  After 
one  hour  for  luncheon  I  return  to  the  office,  where  I 
wrestle  with  various  problems  until  4.  Then  I  have  din- 
ner and  recreation,  and  play  with  Mary  and  the  children. 
At  7  p.  m.  I  again  return  to  the  office  for  work  and  study 
until  8 140,  when  I  go  to  the  chapel  and  lead  the  prayer 
service,  which  closes  the  day's  work  for  all  the  school. 
It  is  then  my  habit  to  read  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock. 

In  connection  with  this  schedule,  I  teach  two  classes 
during  each  day,  and  teach  a  general  lesson  by  means  of 
an  address  to  the  whole  student  body  every  Sunday 
evening. 

My  favorite  recreation  is  horseback  riding.  I  have 
never  learned  to  play  any  games.  Poverty  made  it  im- 
possible for  me  to  do  so  while  I  was  at  school,  and  I 
have  never  had  time  since.  There  is  just  one  exception, 
— croquet, — which  I  learned  to  play  when  I  was  a  boy. 
And  I  am  proud  of  knowing  how  to  play  that  game;  I 
shall  never  forget  C.  N.  Findlay,  my  good  old  Alabama 
teacher,  who  had  the  good  judgment  to  teach  his  pupils 
to  play  as  well  as  to  teach  them  their  "a-b-c's." 

We  have  a  habit-forming  routine  at  the  school,  which 
resolves  itself  into  the  following  schedule : 

The  rising  bell  rings  5  :io  a.  m.  ;  5  150,  the  first  break- 
fast bell;  6,  the  breakfast  bell;  twenty-five  minutes  for 
breakfast;  6:25  to  6:45,  preparation  for  daily  inspection 
of  rooms;  6:50,  work  bell  rings;  7:25,  morning  study 
hour;  8:20,  school  bell  rings;  8:25,  young  men  inspected 


222  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

on  battalion  grounds  as  to  their  toilet ;  8 140,  morning  de- 
votion; 8:55,  current  news  period;  9:20,  classroom  work 
begins;  12,  all  work  closes;  12:10,  dinner;  1:00  p.  m., 
work  bell  rings ;  1 130,  class  work  begins ;  3 130,  class 
work  ends ;  5  130,  bell  rings  to  stop  work ;  6,  supper ;  6 :3c 
study  hour ;  7,  night  school  begins  ( for  those  who  work 
in  the  day  and  go  to  school  at  night)  ;  8 140,  evening  de- 
votion ;  9 :20,  first  retiring  bell ;  9 130,  retiring  bell. 

This  schedule  is  varied  on  Sundays,  so  as  to  have  both 
Sunday  school  and  preaching  services  in  the  morning, 
leaving  the  afternoon  open  for  those  who  wish  to  go  into 
the  country  to  do  missionary  work. 

Of  my  school  life  at  Tuskegee  I  have  said  little  for 
want  of  space.  It  would  be  easy  to  write  a  whole  book 
on  Tuskegee,  covering  the  eight  years  that  I  passed  there. 
And  the  data  that  I  have  given  regarding  the  founding  of 
the  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  will  serve  as  a 
sort  of  history  of  the  Institute,  inadequate  though  it  is. 

Many  changes  have  taken  place  since  the  Institute  was 
started  in  Mississippi.  About  six  hundred  young  men 
and  young  women  have  been  educated  and  sent  into  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  state,  and  a  large  number  of  them  are 
engaged  in  teaching  in  the  rural  schools,  where  I  think 
they  can  do  the  most  good  at  this  time. 

A  very  small  per  cent,  of  them  are  engaged  in  various 
kinds  of  domestic  service,  both  in  the  North  and  South. 
Progress  has  been  made,  also,  in  every  part  of  Missis- 
sippi and  the  South.  Negroes  have  advanced  steadily  in 
various  industrial  organizations,  building  schools  and 
churches,  improving  their  home  life,  buying  property, 
and  in  many  other  ways  making  themselves  substantial 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  223 

citizens  of  the  state.  The  whole  state,  white  as  well  as 
black,  has  made  tremendous  progress  during  the  past 
twelve  years.  Let  me  relate  this  little  incident  to  show 
something  of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  one  par- 
ticular instance. 

Some  years  ago,  on  a  frosty  morning,  I  was  standing 
at  the  depot  of  Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  I 
saw  an  emaciated  horse  trying  to  draw  a  cart  through 
Capitol  Street,  the  main  street  of  the  city.  The  mud  was 
so  deep  and  slushy  in  the  middle  of  the  street  that  the 
horse  went  down  until  only  the  top  of  his  back  and  the 
end  of  his  nose  could  be  seen.  A  number  of  Negro  men 
got  around  him  to  pull  him  out;  but  before  they  suc- 
ceeded he  was  dead.  That  was  on  the  main  street;  the 
same  street  to-day  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  streets  I 
have  ever  seen  in  any  town,  substantially  paved,  as  are 
all  the  other  principal  streets  in  the  city.  This  will  give 
some  slight  idea  of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  there. 

At  that  time  Jackson  had  a  population  of  seven  thou- 
sand people.  Now  it  has  a  population  of  approximately 
thirty  thousand,  and  the  Negroes  of  that  town  paid  taxes 
last  year  on  nearly  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  property. 

I  have  mentioned  these  facts  because  without  them 
there  is  danger  that  my  readers  would  think  that  I  have 
exaggerated  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  progress  that  has 
been  made  by  the  colored  people  in  the  vicinity  of  Utica, 
and  especially  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  estab- 
lishing an  Institution  which  started  in  the  open  air,  with 
no  means  or  influence,  and  has  reached  a  commanding 
place  in  the  educational  world  in  a  few  years,  with 
twenty-five  teachers,   five  hundred   students,   seventeen 


224  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

hundred  acres  of  land,  and  buildings,  apparatus,  and 
property  valued  at  more  than  a  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

In  what  I  have  said  about  my  work  I  trust  I  have  not 
taken  too  much  credit  to  myself,  for  I  attribute  all  that  I 
have  been  able  to  accomplish  to  the  good  fortune  that 
has  attended  me  from  the  day  of  my  birth.  In  the  first 
place,  in  the  choice  of  my  mother,  I  consider  that  I  was 
one  of  the  most  sensible  babies  ever  born;  and  in  the 
choice  of  my  father,  there  was  surely  no  mistake.  Then, 
as  I  have  said  before,  I  was  early  under  the  influence  of 
some  of  the  best  white  people  I  ever  knew, — white  people 
who  took  an  interest  in  me  and  helped  me  in  many  ways. 
I  can  never  forget  "Miss  Roberson"  (Mrs.  Andy  Robin- 
son), the  white  lady  who  in  my  youth  gave  me  such  en- 
couragement and  direction  as  even  my  mother,  because  of 
lack  of  education,  was  unable  to  give.  Later,  when  I  was 
nearly  a  young  man,  I  came  under  the  influence  of  that 
matchless  teacher,  Booker  T.  Washington,  and  also  of 
Warren  Logan,  "the  gentleman  of  Tuskegee,"  whose 
character  cannot  be  surpassed ;  and  when  I  began  my  first 
work  as  a  teacher  at  Snow  Hill,  Alabama,  after  I  had 
finished  my  course  at  Tuskegee,  I  was  again  blessed  by 
coming  in  direct  personal  contact  with  one  of  Alabama's 
greatest  white  men,  Mr.  Ransom  O.  Simpson,  of  Fur- 
man,  Alabama, — a  man  who  is  devoting  his  declining 
years  to  the  development  of  The  Snow  Hill  Institute  for 
the  colored  race,  to  bettering  the  condition  of  the  Ne- 
groes on  his  extensive  lands,  many  of  whom  were  his 
former  slaves;  and  then  my  real  fortune  came  when  I 
married  the  greatest  and  most  lovable  woman  I  ever  saw. 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  225 

When  I  came  to  Mississippi  I  fell  directly  in  with  such 
great  white  men  as  the  Hon.  A.  H.  Longino,  who  was 
then  Governor  of  the  State,  and  the  late  Bishop  Charles 
B.  Galloway,  who,  taken  at  his  full  value,  was  perhaps 
the  greatest  man  Mississippi  has  produced.  Then  there 
were  such  good  men  and  sympathetic  fellow-citizens  as 
Major  R.  W.  Millsaps  and  Bishop  Theodore  Dubois 
Bratton, — men  who  enjoy  the  reputation  of  living  many 
years  ahead  of  their  time  when  it  comes  to  questions  af- 
fecting the  South.  I  have  already  spoken  of  Mr.  Fergu- 
son, Mr.  Yates,  and  others  (like  the  Simmons  brothers), 
my  fellow-citizens  here  at  home  without  whose  assistance 
I  could  hardly  have  accomplished  what  I  have.  I  should 
also  mention  such  consecrated  men  as  Prof.  J.  B.  Leh- 
man, who,  although  a  Northern  man,  is  in  close  sympathy 
with  all  that  is  Southern,  and  who  has  done  and  is  still 
doing,  as  President  of  the  Southern  Christian  Institute 
at  Edwards,  Miss.,  a  telling  work  for  Negro  boys  and 
girls  of  the  South.  And  there  are  hundreds  of  other 
noble  white  men, — like  Doctors  Hamlin  and  Holmes, 
Dean  and  President,  respectively,  of  Tougaloo  Univer- 
sity, and  still  others,  in  and  out  of  Mississippi, — who 
have  stood  by  me  in  all  my  efforts. 

I  ought  to  mention  the  Christian  white  women  of  Utica 
and  the  surrounding  country,  some  of  whom,  even  though 
not  wealthy,  contributed  as  much  as  one  hundred  dollars 
at  a  time.  When  in  the  early  years  we  were  trying  to 
establish  a  boarding  department,  these  Christian  women 
contributed  wash  pans,  dippers,  water  buckets,  brooms, 
quilts,  and  many  other  useful  things  to  help  us  forward. 


226  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

I  have  never  felt  that  I  have  been  able  to  give  them  any 
just  and  adequate  returns  for  their  generosity. 

I  have  already  mentioned  my  great  friend,  Mr.  Bed- 
ford, than  whom  I  have  never  met  a  greater  man  nor  one 
more  consecrated  to  the  cause  of  a  race  other  than  his 
own. 

Among  the  many  colored  men  who  have  helped  me  is 
the  little  band  of  Negro  farmers  who  gathered  with  me 
for  the  first  time,  ten  years  ago,  and  who  have  met  my 
every  call  since  that  time.  Then  there  is  Mr.  Emmett  J. 
Scott,  Private  Secretary  to  Dr.  Washington,  of  whom 
some  one  wrote,  "The  man  who  made  Booker  Washing- 
ton." That  happy  phrase  is  none  too  strong  to  indicate 
the  character  of  Mr.  Scott.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he 
stands  high  up  in  the  list  of  the  South's  leading  charac- 
ters. He  has  watched  my  every  move  and  helped  me 
when  he  found  an  opportunity;  and  Mr.  Charles  Banks, 
capitalist  and  leader  of  the  Negro  colony  of  Mound 
Bayou,  is  ever  ready  to  do  something  for  Utica,  as  he  is 
for  every  other  good  cause. 

Then  there  are  Elder  Charles  P.  Jones,  of  Jackson, 
better  known  by  his  followers  as  "the  man  of  God,"  who 
has  helped  as  a  sort  of  spiritual  adviser,  his  lieutenant 
Elder  W.  S.  Pleasant,  L.  K.  At  wood,  and  many  others 
too  numerous  to  mention.  All  these,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  noble  and  self-sacrificing  young  teachers  who  have 
been  connected  with  the  work  from  time  to  time,  have 
helped  me  and  made  it  possible  for  me  to  build  this  In- 
stitution. Now  when  we  add  to  this  my  opportunity  to 
come  into  contact  with  some  of  the  best  people  of  the 


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THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  227 

Northern  states  I  think  it  will  be  agreed  that,  in  many 
respects,  I  have  been  very  fortunate. 

But  this  is  not  all.  I  have  a  family  that  is  a  perpetual 
source  of  enjoyment  when  I  can  be  at  home  with  them. 
My  eldest  son,  Robert  Fulton,  now  eleven  years  old,  rises 
in  the  morning  when  I  rise,  at  six  o'clock,  and  follows  me 
to  the  office,  where  he  takes  charge  of  the  telephone  ex- 
change until  breakfast,  at  eight,  unless  he  is  sooner  re- 
lieved by  the  regular  "hello  girl";  then  he  pounds  off 
letters  on  the  typewriter  with  more  intelligence  than  one 
would  expect  of  a  boy  of  his  years,  or  climbs  upon  the 
third  story  of  the  new  building,  where  he  pursues  his 
trade  of  carpentry.  Jerry  Herbert,  nine  years  old,  gives 
me  pleasure  by  his  antics  with  the  horses  and  pigs,  for 
which  he  has  a  special  liking.  Then  there  is  Alice  Marie, 
seven,  as  sedate  as  you  please,  quiet  and  studious,  with  a 
love  for  music  and  cooking.  I  must  not  leave  out  Ella 
Adeline,  five,  who  always  manages  to  get  into  my  arms 
first.  And  last,  and  also  least,  and  youngest,  is  "Bill," — 
William  Henry,  Jr., — three  years  old.  All  these  add  to 
the  sum  total  of  my  happiness,  and  make  life  worth 
much  more  than  the  living. 

If  anything  else  were  needed  to  make  the  life  of  a 
Black  Belt  school-teacher  one  of  pleasure,  it  would  be 
found  in  his  interest  in  the  student  body.  I  like  to  watch 
a  girl,  who  enters  school  so  crude  as  to  seem  almost  de- 
formed, pass  from  one  stage  to  another  from  year  to 
year,  until  after  a  while  she  stands  forth  on  Commence- 
ment Day  literally  transformed  in  soul  and  body, — a  new 
creature,  because  of  the  new  atmosphere  in  which  she  has 
been  permitted  to  live.    Or  I  like  to  watch  the  boy  who 


228  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

comes  to  school  with  all  his  possessions  tied  up  in  a  ban- 
danna handkerchief,  and  many  of  the  petty  sins  of  his  lo- 
cality still  tied  up  in  his  head.  One  of  these  I  now  have 
in  mind.  He  had  a  decided  disposition  to  take  unto  him- 
self the  things  that  belongeth  to  other  men.  One  night 
he  broke  into  the  Commissary  and  took  two  dozen  boxes 
of  salmon.  Being  overtaken  by  the  fleet-footed  night 
guard,  he  was  hauled  into  my  office  the  next  day,  and 
when  I  asked  him  what  county  he  was  from  he  could 
not  tell  me;  nor  could  he  tell  the  name  of  any  officer 
except  the  sheriff. 

Despite  the  vigorous  criticism  of  the  Faculty,  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council  refused  to  expel  this  young  man.  Plainly, 
neither  he  nor  the  world  could  be  made  better  by  his 
expulsion.  Imagine  the  joy  of  one's  heart  when  several 
years  later  such  a  young  man  stands  before  an  immense 
audience,  erect  as  a  Sioux  chief,  and  proclaims  himself 
redeemed.  All  these  things  have  added  greatly  to  my 
happiness ;  so  much  so  that  I  feel  like  saying  to  all  these 
young  Negro  men  and  women  seeking  happiness  and  use- 
fulness at  the  same  time:  "Go  into  the  Black  Belt  of 
the  South,  out  into  the  rural  districts,  and.  wrestle  with 
her  problems.  It  will  prove  gymnastics  for  your  body, 
exercise  for  your  mind,  and  balm  for  your  spirit." 

However,  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  the  impression  that 
my  life  has  been  one  round  of  pleasure.  It  has  not — far 
from  it.  I  have  certainly  had  my  troubles.  But  always 
the  object  before  me  has  loomed  so  large  as  to  eclipse  all 
minor  difficulties.  When  in  traveling  in  strange  and  dis- 
tant cities  I  have  found  the  hotels  "crowded,"  I  have 
slept  in  parks  and  railway  stations,  and  if  my  body  suf- 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  229 

fered,  my  soul  was  so  aflame  with  the  fire  of  enthusiasm 
that  it  never  flagged  nor  held  aught  against  my  fellow- 
men.  When  I  have  had  to  ride  on  the  open  cars  for  three 
consecutive  days  and  nights,  with  no  rest  and  with  only 
such  food  as  might  be  sold  by  the  sandwich  man  through 
the  window  at  way  stations,  I  have  suffered  little  because 
I  have  had  no  time  to  think  of  personal  ills.  My  mind 
was  fixed  on  the  cause  for  which  I  live  and  work.  I  have 
no  time  to  sing  minor  notes.  I  have  determined  that  the 
tune  of  my  life  shall  be  played  on  major  keys. 

When  I  was  at  school  I  had  considerable  reputation  as 
a  debater, — never  having  lost  in  a  public  debate  during 
my  career  as  a  student.  And  when  I  won  the  Trinity 
Church  Prize, — the  most  coveted  prize  awarded  at  Tuske- 
gee, — I  chose  for  my  subject,  "Education  as  Related  to 
Prosperity.,, 

Since  that  time  I  have  retained  such  abilities  as  I  had 
because  I  have  had  many  occasions  to  exercise  them.  I 
have  had  to  speak  in  public.  I  have  been  called  upon  to 
be  the  Commencement  speaker  at  many  of  the  leading 
schools  in  this  and  other  states.  At  the  moment  I  am 
writing  these  closing  words  I  have  before  me  nine  such 
invitations,  only  two  of  which  I  can  accept  on  account 
of  conflicting  dates.  I  never  speak  just  to  be  speaking. 
I  only  speak  when  I  see  an  opportunity  to  accomplish 
some  good. 

Only  a  few  weeks  ago  I  delivered  an  address  at  Union, 
Mississippi,  where  a  small  race  riot  had  just  been  "pulled 
off."  I  was  surprised,  when  I  reached  the  little  church 
where  I  spoke,  to  see  so  many  white  people  present. 
When  I  rose  to  speak  they  came  close  to  the  speaker's 


230  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

stand,  and  there  was  on  their  faces  anything  but  a  pleas- 
ant look.  I  soon  thawed  them  out,  however,  and  when  I 
had  finished  they  came  to  me  in  large  numbers  and  shook 
my  hand.    One  of  them  said:    "We  came  here  to  raise 

to-day,  but  your  speech  has  taken  it  all  out  of  us. 

We  really  feel  ashamed  of  ourselves."  The  colored 
brethren  set  a  good  table,  and  the  whites  had  a  good  old- 
fashioned  dinner,  and  all  went  off  well. 

I  am  writing  these  last  paragraphs  in  Natchez,  where 
I  have  come  to  deliver  the  Commencement  address  at  the 
city  school,  with  its  twelve  hundred  students,  and  am 
now  in  the  beautiful  home  of  Professor  Brumfield,  the 
principal.  I  have  just  finished  my  address,  and  Professor 
Brumfield  tells  me  it  was  exceedingly  good.  I  spoke  be- 
fore a  representative  audience  of  white  and  colored  citi- 
zens in  the  same  hall  where  Booker  T.  Washington  was 
entertained  upon  his  last  visit  to  the  city,  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  my  address  one  of  the  leading  white  lawyers 
of  Natchez,  together  with  other  white  citizens,  came  up, 
shook  my  hand  cordially,  and  said :  "I  want  to  tell  you 
how  I  value  your  address.  It  was  one  of  the  best  ad- 
dresses I  have  ever  heard.  This  doctrine  you  preach 
should  be  preached  all  over  the  South.  Blacks  and  whites 
alike  would  be  much  benefited  by  it." 

And  now  I  must  speedily  bring  this  narrative  to  a 
close,  for  I  have  about  overtaken  myself.  I  should  sum 
up,  however,  that  my  readers  may  have  a  comprehensive 
view  of  the  whole  story. 

The  Utica  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  which  I 
have  by  great  struggle  brought  to  its  present  standing, 


THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN  231 

annually  enrolls  about  five  hundred  students  and  employs 
thirty  teachers  and  officers;  besides,  through  its  many 
kinds  of  extension  work,  it  reaches  and  influences  an- 
nually about  thirty  thousand  souls.  It  now  owns  seven- 
teen hundred  acres  of  land,  and  operates  twenty  indus- 
tries, together  with  its  literary  work;  and  its  buildings 
and  property  are  valued  at  one  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  also  has  its  own  electric  light  plant  and 
its  water  works.  Our  endowment  at  the  present  time  is 
thirty-two  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars. 

We  have  never  been  able,  for  lack  of  room  and  current 
funds,  to  accommodate  more  than  half  of  the  students 
that  annually  clamor  at  our  doors  for  admittance.  As 
soon  as  we  can  secure  an  endowment  fund  of,  say,  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  we  shall  be  in  a  position  to 
overcome  some  of  the  present  handicaps  and  make  the 
work  far  more  useful. 

I  see  more  clearly  than  ever  before  the  great  task  that 
is  before  me,  and  I  propose  to  continue  the  struggle.  It 
is  an  appalling  task:  a  state  with  more  than  a  million 
Negroes  to  be  educated,  with  half  a  million  children  of 
school  age,  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  whom  at  the  present 
time  attend  no  school  at  all  (only  thirty-six  per  cent,  in 
average  attendance),  a  state  whose  dual  school  system 
makes  it  impossible  to  furnish  more  than  a  mere  pittance 
for  the  education  of  each  individual  child, — yet  these 
children  must  be  educated,  must  be  unfettered,  set  free. 
That  freedom  for  which  Christian  men  and  women, 
North  and  South,  have  worked  and  prayed  so  long  must 
be  realized  in  the  lives  of  these  young  people. 


232  THE  BLACK  MAN'S  BURDEN 

This,  then,  is  my  task,  the  war  that  I  must  wage ;  and 
I  propose  to  stay  on  the  firing  line  and  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith. 

THE  END. 


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